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'I reckon that the chances of us transforming our fortunes are less than Leicester claiming the Premier League, so they are in our favour, right?' The Austrian veteran is reflecting on his fresh chapter as manager of Newport County, and the daunting task of staving off a drop into non-league football. Here lies a challenge at the complete other end of the spectrum of success, though that unbelievable title win in 2016 furnished him far more than a champion's gong. {'It helped change my perspective a little bit ... it proved that the impossible can be attainable,' he states.

'How Did Fuchs End Up Here?'

The natural place to start is: how did Fuchs find himself here? 'That's the element of the story that isn't straightforward, wouldn't you say?' he says, erupting in a chuckle. This remark acts as the 39-year-old's introductory line and a clear demonstration of his playful character across a fascinating conversation. The discussion flows in various tangents, from playing for the current England boss and Brendan Rodgers to the pressing need to find a local barber.

He opens some correspondence on his desk. Included is a message from a Leicester supporter sending best wishes, paired with a couple of glossy photos from that campaign. {'Young Fuchs,' he says, smiling. Another delivery brings a stash of old Panini stickers, one from an album commemorating Euro 2016, when he skippered Austria. A note from the Newport Supporters’ Club is displayed prominently. 'Stuff like this makes me very pleased,' he states.

A Past Trip and a Funny Mistake

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 were on the end of a Newport shock defeat in the FA Cup third round. On that occasion the Newport kit man faced off against Fuchs. {'He had the game of his career,' Fuchs recalls. But when the teamsheets dropped, an amusing error emerged. {'You need to redact this,' Fuchs says with a smile. 'They misspelt my name – somehow a 'k' found its way in in place of the 'h'. It is amusing because Fuchs, in German, means fox, so it’s something fitting.'

Lessons from Ranieri, Rodgers and Tuchel

His decision to join the Foxes in the summer of 2015 was a masterstroke. A couple of weeks later Leicester brought in Claudio Ranieri and an iconic story unfolded. The Italian joined the club in the midst of a pre-season camp in Austria and his hands-off approach produced miracles. {'When you look at Claudio you picture an seasoned professional, so experienced in the game, maybe a bit old school, but he’s anything but,' Fuchs states. {'He just said he was going to watch 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 lessons learned 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 challenge them mentally?’’ Fuchs says of Tuchel. {'That’s a major part of our approach as well. How can you make good players who choose wisely? Back then he was probably in a comparable position to where I am now … very driven, very eager to prove himself.'

Background and a Determined Nature

Fuchs’s drive comes from his upbringing in Neunkirchen. {'There are comparisons to where we are now, because I was told when I was 11 years old that I would never be good enough,' he shares. {'There are people who let that overcome 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 can't do that.’ I’m going to show that I can and put in the hard yards. The other thing about my personality is: I’m very stubborn. If I see potential, I’m making it happen.'

Data-Driven Approach and the Fight for Survival

Fuchs’s assistant, Mark Smith, was born in Newport and had been in charge of Fuchs’s Fox Soccer Academy. Fuchs opens his laptop to show analytics from a recent 2-2 draw, sharing a slide he showed his players. {'The team hit several season bests,' he explains, emphasizing ball progression and statistics about breaking defensive lines. Passing accuracy was shown as 87%. {'Not pleased with that … that needs to be in the mid-90s,' he states. {'My first game, it was very physical, fourth-tier football, but we want to be unique. I think a five-yard pass has a higher probability to be successful than just hoofing it all the time.'

The general numbers present sobering reading. Newport have secured 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 power at home,' Fuchs says. {'It’s just not good enough, not even having a win. We need to construct a stronghold.'

Still a Player at Heart

By his own confession, Fuchs likes a challenge. {'What’s so negative with that?' He ended his playing career less than three years ago and, like Tuchel, enjoys being in the middle of the action. {'I’m a component of the group. I’m still a player in here,' he remarks, tapping his chest. {'At training I’m always participating in the drills – two nutmegs already, get in! I want us to view each other as a single unit. Yes, you’re the ones on the field, but we’re one team, we’re striving towards this together.'