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'The prospect of a late surge is arguably less likely than that legendary 5,000-1 title, which strangely puts the odds in our favour.' The Austrian veteran is reflecting on his recent venture as manager of the Football League's bottom club, and the daunting task of preventing a fall into non-league football. Here lies a challenge at the polar opposite of the spectrum of success, though that unbelievable title win in 2016 gave him a great deal more than a Premier League trophy. {'It contributed to shifting my perspective a little bit ... it demonstrated that the unthinkable can be achievable,' he states.

The Illogical Path to Rodney Parade

The obvious place to start is: how did Fuchs find himself here? 'That's the part of the story that seems counterintuitive, wouldn't you say?' he comments, breaking into a laugh. This remark acts as the 39-year-old's introductory line and a clear sign of his charismatic character across a colourful conversation. Our talk runs in multiple pathways, from working under Thomas Tuchel and Brendan Rodgers to the urgent quest to find a local barber.

He looks at some mail on his desk. Included is a note from a Leicester supporter wishing him well, along with a couple of shiny pictures from that memorable year. {'Young Fuchs,' he muses, with a smile. Another delivery brings a stash of old stickers, one from an album commemorating Euro 2016, when he skippered Austria. A greeting from the Newport Supporters’ Club is displayed prominently. Items like this genuinely makes me very pleased,' he states.

A Previous Visit and a Misspelt Name

Until coming back from North Carolina to assume his first job in frontline management last month, Fuchs’s most recent encounter to Rodney Parade was in January 2019, when Leicester suffered a Newport cupset in the FA Cup third round. On that occasion the Newport kit man duelled against Fuchs. {'He had the match of his career,' Fuchs recalls. But when the official sheets were released, an curious error was discovered. {'You need to redact this,' Fuchs says with a smile. 'They misspelled my name – somehow a 'k' found its way in in place of the 'h'. It is hilarious because Fuchs, in German, means fox, so it’s something nice.'

Insights from The Tinkerman, Rodgers and Tuchel

His decision to join the Foxes in the summer of 2015 turned out to be a masterstroke. A couple of weeks later Leicester hired Claudio Ranieri and what followed is legendary. The Italian arrived at the club in the middle of a pre-season camp in Austria and his light-touch approach did the trick. {'When you observe Claudio you picture an older man, so long in the business, maybe a bit set in his ways, but he’s anything but,' Fuchs states. {'He just said he was going to observe training in Austria for the first week. He remained on the sidelines at all. After that week we had a meeting and he said: 'I’ve watched you for a week and I’m not going to modify anything.''

Fuchs values experiences from Rodgers and Tuchel, under whom he worked while on loan at Mainz. {'He always considered: ‘How can I get more out of the players? How can I test them psychologically?’’ Fuchs says of Tuchel. {'That’s a big part of our philosophy as well. How can you make good players who choose wisely? Back then he was probably in a analogous place to where I am now … very driven, very keen to prove himself.'

Roots and a Stubborn Nature

Fuchs’s drive stems from his early years in Neunkirchen. {'There are similarities to where we are now, because I was told when I was 11 years old that I would never be skilled enough,' he reveals. {'There are people who let that get the better of them or there are people who say: ‘Fuchs you, I’m going to show you.’ I’ve been told too many times: ‘You can not do this, you can not do that.’ I’m going to demonstrate that I can and put in the hard yards. The other thing about my character is: I’m very stubborn. If I see possibility, I’m going for it.'

Analytical Approach and the Fight for Survival

Fuchs’s assistant, Mark Smith, was born in Newport and previously led Fuchs’s Fox Soccer Academy. Fuchs boots up his laptop to show statistics from a recent 2-2 draw, presenting a slide he presented to his players. {'The team hit many, many season highs,' he says, highlighting ball progression and statistics about getting behind defensive lines. Passing accuracy was logged at 87%. {'Not pleased with that … that needs to be in the 90-95% range,' he declares. {'My first game, it was very direct, lower-league football, but we want to be unique. I think a five-yard pass has a higher percentage to arrive than just going long all the time.'

The overarching numbers paint bleak reading. Newport have won three of 19 league matches and are winless in eight in all competitions. By the time of their next home game, they will have not secured three points at home for 273 days and have kept just two clean sheets in 26 matches this season. But a recent 93rd-minute equaliser with 10 men secured a precious point. {'We need to be a force at home,' Fuchs emphasizes. {'It’s just not acceptable, not even having a win. We need to build a stronghold.'

In the Thick of It at Heart

By his own acknowledgement, Fuchs relishes a challenge. {'What’s so wrong with that?' He hung up his boots less than three years ago and, like Tuchel, likes being in the heart of the battle. {'I’m a part of the group. I’m still a player at heart,' he states, pointing to his chest. {'At training I’m always participating in the boxes – two megs already, yes! I want us to regard each other as a unified group. Yes, you’re the ones on the field, but we’re all in this together, we’re working on this collectively.'