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'The prospect of a seasonal revival is arguably more remote than that fabled 5,000-1 title, which logically puts the odds in our corner.' The Austrian veteran is reflecting on his fresh chapter as boss of Newport County, and the daunting task of staving off a fall into non-league football. Here lies a challenge at the complete other end of the spectrum of success, though that miraculous title win in 2016 provided him with a great deal more than a champion's gong. {'It helped change my outlook a little bit ... it showed that the unthinkable can be possible,' he remarks.

The Illogical Path to Rodney Parade

The natural place to start is: how did Fuchs end up here? 'That's the aspect of the story that defies logic, wouldn't you say?' he states, breaking into laughter. This remark acts as the 39-year-old's introductory line and a clear demonstration of his charismatic character across a fascinating conversation. Our talk travels in multiple pathways, from playing for the current England boss and Brendan Rodgers to the urgent quest to find a barber in the area.

He opens some post on his desk. There is a note from a Leicester supporter offering encouragement, along with a couple of glossy photos from that memorable year. {'Young Fuchs,' he muses, smiling. Another delivery brings a hoard of old collector's items, one from an album celebrating Euro 2016, when he skippered Austria. A card from the Newport Supporters’ Club is given special attention. 'Stuff like this makes me very content,' he adds.

A Previous Visit and a Misspelt Name

Prior to returning 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 shock defeat in the FA Cup third round. During that match a former full-back duelled against Fuchs. {'He had the performance of his life,' Fuchs admits. But when the teamsheets dropped, an interesting error was discovered. {'You need to censor this,' Fuchs jokes. 'They misspelled my name – somehow a 'k' crept in in place of the 'h'. It is hilarious because Fuchs, in German, means fox, so it’s something pleasant.'

Lessons from The Tinkerman, Rodgers and Tuchel

His move to join the Foxes in the summer of 2015 proved inspired. A couple of weeks later Leicester brought in Claudio Ranieri and what followed is legendary. The Italian arrived at the club in the midst of a pre-season camp in Austria and his hands-off approach worked wonders. {'When you see Claudio you picture an elder gentleman, so experienced in the game, maybe a bit old school, but he’s so not,' Fuchs says. {'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 observed you for a week and I’m not going to alter anything.''

Fuchs holds dear lessons learned from Rodgers and Tuchel, under whom he worked while on loan at Mainz. {'He always thought: ‘How can I get more out of the players? How can I challenge them psychologically?’’ Fuchs says of Tuchel. {'That’s a major part of our philosophy 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 focused, very eager to prove himself.'

Roots and a Stubborn Character

Fuchs’s drive stems from his early years 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: ‘Forget you, I’m going to show you.’ I’ve been told too many times: ‘You can not do this, you cannot do that.’ I’m going to prove that I can and put in the hard yards. The other thing about my make-up is: I’m quite headstrong. If I see possibility, I’m making it happen.'

Detailed Approach and the Battle for Survival

Fuchs’s assistant, Mark Smith, was born in Newport and formerly ran Fuchs’s Fox Soccer Academy. Fuchs boots up 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 highs,' he explains, emphasizing ball progression and statistics about breaking defensive lines. Passing accuracy was shown as 87%. {'Not satisfied with that … that needs to be in the 90-95% range,' he states. {'My first game, it was very direct, fourth-tier football, but we want to be unique. I think a five-yard pass has a higher chance to find its target than just launching it all the time.'

The general numbers paint sobering 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 injury-time equaliser with 10 men secured a precious point. {'We need to be a power at home,' Fuchs emphasizes. {'It’s just not acceptable, not even having a win. We need to create a fortress.'

One of the Lads at Heart

By his own admission, Fuchs likes a challenge. {'What’s so bad with that?' He ended his playing career less than three years ago and, like Tuchel, loves being in the middle of the action. {'I’m a member of the group. I’m still a player in here,' he remarks, pointing to his chest. {'At training I’m always getting involved in the small-sided games – two megs already, yes! I want us to view each other as a unified group. Yes, you’re the ones on the field, but we’re all in this together, we’re striving towards this collectively.'