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'I estimate that the likelihood of us turning the season around are slimmer than Leicester lifting the Premier League, so they are in our favor, right?' The Austrian veteran is reflecting on his recent venture as boss of Newport County, and the daunting task of staving off a drop into non-league football. It is a challenge at the polar opposite of the spectrum, though that fairytale title win in 2016 gave him much more than a winner's medal. {'It contributed to shifting my outlook a little bit ... it proved that the unthinkable can be achievable,' he remarks.

The Illogical Path to Rodney Parade

The obvious place to start is: what brought Fuchs end up here? 'I imagine that's the part that's illogical, right?' he comments, erupting in laughter. This remark acts as the 39-year-old's introductory line and a clear sign of his playful character across a colourful conversation. The discussion runs in various tangents, from being managed by the current England boss and the former Leicester manager to the immediate requirement to find a barber in the area.

He opens some correspondence on his desk. There is a message from a Leicester supporter wishing him well, along with a couple of shiny pictures from that memorable year. {'Young Fuchs,' he says, grinning. Another package brings a hoard of old collector's items, one from an album commemorating Euro 2016, when he captained Austria. A note from the Newport Supporters’ Club has pride of place. 'Stuff like this genuinely makes me very happy,' he adds.

A Prior Encounter and a Funny Mistake

Until coming back from North Carolina to accept his first job in senior management last month, Fuchs’s last trip to Rodney Parade was in January 2019, when Leicester were on the end of a Newport giantkilling in the FA Cup third round. During that match David Pipe competed with Fuchs. {'He had the game of his career,' Fuchs says. But when the teamsheets came out, an curious error was discovered. {'You need to redact this,' Fuchs says with a smile. 'They got wrong my name – somehow a 'k' smuggled itself 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 move to join the Foxes in the summer of 2015 turned out to be brilliant. A couple of weeks later Leicester hired Claudio Ranieri and an iconic story unfolded. The Italian joined the club in the middle of a pre-season camp in Austria and his light-touch approach worked wonders. {'When you observe Claudio you picture an seasoned professional, so a veteran of the sport, maybe a bit traditional, but he’s so not,' Fuchs explains. {'He just said he was going to watch training in Austria for the first week. He stayed out of it at all. After that week we had a meeting and he said: 'I’ve studied you for a week and I’m not going to modify anything.''

Fuchs holds dear experiences from Rodgers and Tuchel, under whom he worked while on loan at Mainz. {'He always pondered: ‘How can I get more out of the players? How can I push them mentally?’’ Fuchs says of Tuchel. {'That’s a major part of our approach as well. How can you make good thinkers on the pitch? Back then he was probably in a comparable position to where I am now … very focused, very keen to prove himself.'

Origins and a Stubborn Character

Fuchs’s drive comes from his childhood in Neunkirchen. {'There are parallels to where we are now, because I was told when I was 11 years old that I would never be good enough,' he discloses. {'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't do this, you cannot do that.’ I’m going to demonstrate that I can and give absolutely everything. The other thing about my make-up is: I’m pretty determined. If I see possibility, I’m doing it.'

Data-Driven Approach and the Fight for Survival

Fuchs’s assistant, Mark Smith, was born in Newport and previously led Fuchs’s Fox Soccer Academy. Fuchs fires up his laptop to show analytics from a recent 2-2 draw, displaying a slide he showed his players. {'The team hit numerous season bests,' he explains, highlighting ball progression and statistics about penetrating defensive lines. Passing accuracy was shown as 87%. {'Not satisfied with that … that needs to be in the mid-90s,' he declares. {'My first game, it was very direct, fourth-tier football, but we want to be unique. I think a five-yard pass has a higher percentage to arrive than just launching it all the time.'

The overarching numbers paint grim reading. Newport have secured three of 19 league matches and are yet to win in eight in all competitions. By the time of their next home game, they will have not won a game 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 earned a crucial point. {'We need to be a force at home,' Fuchs stresses. {'It’s just not satisfactory, not even having a win. We need to create a impenetrable home.'

In the Thick of It at Heart

By his own acknowledgement, Fuchs relishes a challenge. {'What’s so negative with that?' He retired less than three years ago and, like Tuchel, likes being in the heart of the battle. {'I’m a component of the group. I’m still a player at heart,' he remarks, tapping his chest. {'At training I’m always getting involved in the small-sided games – two megs already, yes! I want us to regard each other as a single unit. Yes, you’re the ones on the field, but we’re one team, we’re tackling this collectively.'