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'The probability of a late surge is arguably a longer shot than that legendary 5,000-1 title, which logically puts the odds in our favour.' The Austrian veteran is reflecting on his new life as boss of Newport County, and the monumental task of averting a drop into non-league football. Here lies a challenge at the complete other end of the scale, though that unbelievable title win in 2016 gave him much more than a winner's medal. {'It assisted in altering my mindset a little bit ... it demonstrated that the unthinkable can be achievable,' he notes.

The Surprising Path to Rodney Parade

The logical place to start is: what brought Fuchs find himself here? 'I imagine that's the part that's unpredictable, right?' he comments, breaking into a chuckle. It is the 39-year-old's introductory line and a clear sign of his charismatic character across a fascinating conversation. The discussion travels in multiple pathways, from playing for Thomas Tuchel and Brendan Rodgers to the pressing need to find a nearby hairdresser.

He looks at some post on his desk. Among it is a letter from a Leicester supporter sending best wishes, accompanied by a couple of professional photographs from that season. {'Young Fuchs,' he says, grinning. Another envelope brings a collection of old Panini stickers, one from an album celebrating Euro 2016, when he captained Austria. A note from the Newport Supporters’ Club is displayed prominently. Items like this really makes me very pleased,' he states.

A Previous Visit and a Funny Mistake

Until coming back from North Carolina to accept his first job in senior management last month, Fuchs’s previous visit 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 the Newport kit man duelled against Fuchs. {'He had the match of his life,' Fuchs admits. But when the official sheets dropped, an amusing error emerged. {'You need to edit this,' Fuchs remarks. 'They misspelled my name – somehow a 'k' found its way in in place of the 'h'. It is funny because Fuchs, in German, means fox, so it’s something pleasant.'

Lessons from Ranieri, Rodgers and Tuchel

His move to join the Foxes in the summer of 2015 proved brilliant. 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 light-touch approach produced miracles. {'When you look at Claudio you envision an elder gentleman, so a veteran of the sport, maybe a bit set in his ways, but he’s the complete opposite,' Fuchs states. {'He just said he was going to monitor 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 watched you for a week and I’m not going to modify anything.''

Fuchs cherishes lessons learned from Rodgers and Tuchel, under whom he worked while on loan at Mainz. {'He always considered: ‘How can I get additional out of the players? How can I test them psychologically?’’ Fuchs says of Tuchel. {'That’s a major part of our approach as well. How can you make good decision-makers? Back then he was probably in a comparable position to where I am now … very focused, very anxious to prove himself.'

Background and a Resolute Character

Fuchs’s motivation 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 capable 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 can't do that.’ I’m going to demonstrate that I can and give absolutely everything. The other thing about my personality is: I’m very headstrong. If I see promise, I’m making it happen.'

Analytical Approach and the Struggle for Survival

Fuchs’s assistant, Mark Smith, was born in Newport and previously led Fuchs’s Fox Soccer Academy. Fuchs opens his laptop to show analytics from a recent 2-2 draw, displaying a slide he presented to his players. {'The team hit several season bests,' he points out, emphasizing ball progression and statistics about breaking defensive lines. Passing accuracy was shown as 87%. {'Not happy 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 different. I think a five-yard pass has a higher probability to be successful than just hoofing it all the time.'

The overarching numbers paint grim 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 won a game at home for 273 days and have kept just two clean sheets in 26 matches this season. But a recent last-gasp equaliser with 10 men secured a valuable point. {'We need to be a dominant side at home,' Fuchs says. {'It’s just not acceptable, not even having a win. We need to construct a impenetrable home.'

Still a Player at Heart

By his own confession, Fuchs enjoys a challenge. {'What’s so bad 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 member of the group. I’m still a player inside,' he states, tapping his chest. {'At training I’m always participating in the small-sided games – two pannas already, yes! I want us to view each other as a single unit. Yes, you’re the ones on the field, but we’re a collective, we’re tackling this collectively.'