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'The prospect of a dramatic turnaround is arguably less likely than that historic 5,000-1 title, which somehow puts the odds in our favour.' The Austrian veteran is talking about his fresh chapter as head coach of Newport County, and the immense task of preventing a descent into non-league football. It is a challenge at the complete other end of the spectrum of success, though that fairytale title win in 2016 furnished him a great deal more than a champion's gong. {'It assisted in altering my outlook a little bit ... it proved that the unattainable can be achievable,' he remarks.

'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 states, breaking into laughter. This remark acts as the 39-year-old's opening gambit and a clear sign of his charismatic character across a fascinating conversation. Our talk travels in different directions, from working under the current England boss and the former Leicester manager to the pressing need to find a nearby hairdresser.

He opens some mail on his desk. Among it is a message from a Leicester supporter sending best wishes, paired with a couple of glossy photos from that campaign. {'Young Fuchs,' he muses, grinning. Another envelope brings a hoard of old Panini stickers, one from an album marking Euro 2016, when he captained Austria. A card from the Newport Supporters’ Club is given special attention. 'Stuff like this genuinely makes me very pleased,' he states.

A Previous Visit and a Typographical Error

Prior to coming back from North Carolina to take on his first job in senior management last month, Fuchs’s most recent encounter to Rodney Parade was in January 2019, when Leicester suffered a Newport cupset in the FA Cup third round. On that occasion a former full-back faced off against Fuchs. {'He had the game of his life,' Fuchs recalls. But when the official sheets dropped, an amusing error was discovered. {'You need to censor this,' Fuchs says with a smile. 'They misspelt my name – somehow a 'k' crept in in place of the 'h'. It is funny because Fuchs, in German, means fox, so it’s something nice.'

Lessons from The Tinkerman, Rodgers and Tuchel

His choice to join the Foxes in the summer of 2015 turned out to be a masterstroke. A couple of weeks later Leicester hired Claudio Ranieri and an iconic story unfolded. The Italian came to the club in the heart of a pre-season camp in Austria and his hands-off approach did the trick. {'When you look at Claudio you imagine an older man, so experienced in the game, maybe a bit old school, but he’s the complete opposite,' Fuchs states. {'He just said he was going to observe 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 change anything.''

Fuchs values lessons learned from Rodgers and Tuchel, under whom he worked while on loan at Mainz. {'He always thought: ‘How can I get extra out of the players? How can I push 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 similar situation to where I am now … very focused, very anxious to prove himself.'

Origins and a Resolute Mindset

Fuchs’s determination originates in 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 skilled enough,' he discloses. {'There are people who let that get the better of 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 cannot do that.’ I’m going to show that I can and work my socks off. The other thing about my personality is: I’m pretty headstrong. If I see potential, I’m going for it.'

Analytical Approach and the Fight for Survival

Fuchs’s assistant, Mark Smith, was born in Newport and formerly ran Fuchs’s Fox Soccer Academy. Fuchs fires up his laptop to show data from a recent 2-2 draw, presenting a slide he presented to his players. {'The team hit several season peaks,' he says, highlighting ball progression and statistics about penetrating defensive lines. Passing accuracy was logged at 87%. {'Not pleased with that … that needs to be in the 90-95% range,' he declares. {'My first game, it was very physical, fourth-tier football, but we want to be distinct. I think a five-yard pass has a higher percentage to be successful than just launching it all the time.'

The general numbers paint sobering reading. Newport have won 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 crucial point. {'We need to be a dominant side at home,' Fuchs emphasizes. {'It’s just not satisfactory, not even having a win. We need to construct a impenetrable home.'

In the Thick of It at Heart

By his own acknowledgement, Fuchs relishes 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 middle of the action. {'I’m a member of the group. I’m still a player at heart,' he states, indicating his chest. {'At training I’m always getting involved in the drills – two nutmegs already, brilliant! I want us to see each other as a unified group. Yes, you’re the ones on the field, but we’re a collective, we’re striving towards this as one.'