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'The probability of a dramatic turnaround is arguably more remote than that historic 5,000-1 title, which somehow puts the odds in our favor.' The Austrian veteran is talking about his new life as boss of Newport County, and the immense task of preventing a fall into non-league football. It is 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 Premier League trophy. {'It helped change my perspective a little bit ... it demonstrated that the impossible can be achievable,' he remarks.

'How Did Fuchs End Up Here?'

The natural place to start is: what was the journey that led Fuchs end up here? 'I imagine that's the part that's not logical, right?' he comments, breaking into a chuckle. It is the 39-year-old's opening gambit and a clear sign of his playful character across a wide-ranging conversation. Discourse runs in various tangents, from playing for Thomas Tuchel and the former Leicester manager to the urgent quest to find a local barber.

He looks at some mail on his desk. Included is a message from a Leicester supporter sending best wishes, paired with a couple of professional photographs from that season. {'Young Fuchs,' he remarks, grinning. Another delivery brings a collection of old Panini stickers, one from an album commemorating Euro 2016, when he captained Austria. A note from the Newport Supporters’ Club is given special attention. Things like this really makes me very pleased,' he states.

A Previous Visit and a Typographical Error

Until coming back from North Carolina to assume his first job in first-team coaching last month, Fuchs’s last trip to Rodney Parade was in January 2019, when Leicester suffered a Newport cupset in the FA Cup third round. During that match the Newport kit man faced off against Fuchs. {'He had the match of his life,' Fuchs admits. But when the official sheets dropped, an interesting error came to light. {'You need to censor this,' Fuchs says with a smile. '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 fitting.'

Insights from Ranieri, Rodgers and Tuchel

His choice to join the Foxes in the summer of 2015 was inspired. 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 worked wonders. {'When you observe Claudio you imagine an older man, so long in the business, 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 remained on the sidelines at all. After that week we had a meeting and he said: 'I’ve observed you for a week and I’m not going to change 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 additional out of the players? How can I test them psychologically?’’ Fuchs says of Tuchel. {'That’s a significant 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 motivated, very eager to prove himself.'

Origins 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 good enough,' he discloses. {'There are people who let that defeat them or there are people who say: ‘Watch me, 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 show that I can and put in the hard yards. The other thing about my character is: I’m pretty determined. If I see potential, I’m going for it.'

Detailed Approach and the Battle 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, displaying a slide he used with his players. {'The team hit many, many season peaks,' he points out, emphasizing ball progression and statistics about breaking defensive lines. Passing accuracy was logged at 87%. {'Not happy with that … that needs to be in the mid-90s,' he declares. {'My first game, it was very physical, League Two football, but we want to be distinct. I think a five-yard pass has a higher percentage to be successful than just going long all the time.'

The general numbers make 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 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 build a impenetrable home.'

One of the Lads 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, likes being in the middle of the action. {'I’m a member of the group. I’m still a player in here,' he states, indicating his chest. {'At training I’m always joining in in the drills – two pannas already, brilliant! I want us to view each other as one team. Yes, you’re the ones on the field, but we’re one team, we’re tackling this as one.'