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'The probability of a late surge is arguably a longer shot than that fabled 5,000-1 title, which logically puts the odds in our favour.' The Austrian veteran is talking about his recent venture as manager of the League Two strugglers, and the monumental task of averting a drop into non-league football. This represents a challenge at the complete other end of the scale, though that miraculous title win in 2016 provided him with much more than a winner's medal. {'It helped change my mindset a little bit ... it proved that the unthinkable can be attainable,' he remarks.

'How Did Fuchs Wind Up Here?'

The obvious place to start is: what was the journey that led Fuchs wind up here? 'That's the aspect of the story that defies logic, wouldn't you say?' he comments, breaking into a laugh. This serves as the 39-year-old's initial statement and a clear sign of his engaging character across a wide-ranging conversation. Discourse travels in multiple pathways, from working under the current England boss and the former Leicester manager to the pressing need to find a barber in the area.

He looks at some mail on his desk. Included is a note from a Leicester supporter offering encouragement, paired with a couple of professional photographs from that memorable year. {'Young Fuchs,' he remarks, grinning. Another delivery brings a collection of old stickers, one from an album marking Euro 2016, when he led Austria. A card from the Newport Supporters’ Club is given special attention. Items like this makes me very content,' he adds.

A Previous Visit and a Typographical Error

Until coming back from North Carolina to accept his first job in first-team coaching 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. On that occasion the Newport kit man faced off against Fuchs. {'He had the game of his life,' Fuchs recalls. But when the lineup cards dropped, an interesting error was discovered. {'You need to redact this,' Fuchs jokes. 'They misspelt my name – somehow a 'k' smuggled itself in in place of the 'h'. It is amusing because Fuchs, in German, means fox, so it’s something fitting.'

Insights from Claudio, Rodgers and Tuchel

His choice to join the Foxes in the summer of 2015 proved a masterstroke. A couple of weeks later Leicester appointed Claudio Ranieri and the rest is history. The Italian came to the club in the middle of a pre-season camp in Austria and his hands-off approach did the trick. {'When you see Claudio you picture an older man, so long in the business, maybe a bit set in his ways, but he’s so not,' 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 studied you for a week and I’m not going to change anything.''

Fuchs holds dear insights gained from Rodgers and Tuchel, under whom he worked while on loan at Mainz. {'He always considered: ‘How can I get extra out of the players? How can I push them psychologically?’’ Fuchs says of Tuchel. {'That’s a big part of our methodology as well. How can you make good players who choose wisely? Back then he was probably in a similar situation to where I am now … very driven, very eager to prove himself.'

Origins and a Stubborn Nature

Fuchs’s motivation originates in his upbringing 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 reveals. {'There are people who let that overcome them or there are people who say: ‘Forget 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 work my socks off. The other thing about my make-up is: I’m pretty stubborn. If I see possibility, I’m making it happen.'

Data-Driven 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 boots up his laptop to show statistics from a recent 2-2 draw, displaying a slide he showed his players. {'The team hit many, many season peaks,' he points out, highlighting ball progression and statistics about getting behind defensive lines. Passing accuracy was recorded at 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 percentage to find its target than just hoofing it all the time.'

The general numbers paint grim reading. Newport have managed three of 19 league matches and are without a victory 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 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 create a stronghold.'

In the Thick of It at Heart

By his own admission, Fuchs enjoys a challenge. {'What’s so bad 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 member of the group. I’m still a player inside,' he says, pointing to his chest. {'At training I’m always participating in the boxes – two nutmegs already, yes! I want us to see each other as one team. Yes, you’re the ones on the field, but we’re all in this together, we’re striving towards this as one.'