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'The prospect of a late surge is arguably a longer shot than that legendary 5,000-1 title, which strangely puts the odds in our favour.' The Austrian veteran is reflecting on his new life as head coach of the Football League's bottom club, and the monumental task of staving off a fall into non-league football. It is a challenge at the polar opposite of the spectrum, though that unbelievable title win in 2016 gave him a great deal more than a Premier League trophy. {'It contributed to shifting my perspective a little bit ... it demonstrated that the impossible can be achievable,' he remarks.

The Unlikely Path to Rodney Parade

The natural place to start is: what brought Fuchs wind up here? 'That's the aspect of the story that seems counterintuitive, wouldn't you say?' he states, breaking into a chuckle. This remark acts as the 39-year-old's introductory line and a clear demonstration of his playful character across a colourful conversation. Our talk travels in multiple pathways, from working under the current England boss and the former Leicester manager to the urgent quest to find a local barber.

He opens some correspondence on his desk. Among it is a note from a Leicester supporter sending best wishes, accompanied by a couple of glossy photos from that season. {'Young Fuchs,' he says, smiling. Another envelope brings a stash 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. 'Stuff like this makes me very pleased,' he states.

A Prior Encounter and a Typographical Error

Until returning from North Carolina to assume his first job in frontline management last month, Fuchs’s most recent encounter to Rodney Parade was in January 2019, when Leicester endured a Newport cupset in the FA Cup third round. On that occasion David Pipe faced off against Fuchs. {'He had the performance of his life,' Fuchs admits. But when the teamsheets dropped, an curious error was discovered. {'You need to redact this,' Fuchs jokes. 'They misspelt my name – somehow a 'k' crept in in place of the 'h'. It is amusing because Fuchs, in German, means fox, so it’s something pleasant.'

Experiences from Claudio, Rodgers and Tuchel

His move to join the Foxes in the summer of 2015 turned out to be inspired. A couple of weeks later Leicester appointed Claudio Ranieri and an iconic story unfolded. The Italian joined the club in the middle of a pre-season camp in Austria and his light-touch approach did the trick. {'When you look at Claudio you picture an older man, so experienced in the game, maybe a bit old school, but he’s the complete opposite,' Fuchs explains. {'He just said he was going to observe 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 alter anything.''

Fuchs holds dear 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 methodology as well. How can you make good decision-makers? Back then he was probably in a similar situation to where I am now … very motivated, very keen to prove himself.'

Origins and a Resolute Nature

Fuchs’s drive stems 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 reveals. {'There are people who let that defeat them or there are people who say: ‘Forget you, I’m going to show you.’ I’ve been told too many times: ‘You cannot do this, you can't do that.’ I’m going to demonstrate that I can and give absolutely everything. The other thing about my make-up is: I’m quite headstrong. If I see promise, I’m going for it.'

Detailed Approach and the Struggle for Survival

Fuchs’s assistant, Mark Smith, was born in Newport and previously led Fuchs’s Fox Soccer Academy. Fuchs boots up his laptop to show analytics from a recent 2-2 draw, displaying a slide he showed his players. {'The team hit many, many season peaks,' he explains, highlighting ball progression and statistics about getting behind defensive lines. Passing accuracy was logged at 87%. {'Not happy with that … that needs to be in the 90-95% range,' he states. {'My first game, it was very long-ball, League Two football, but we want to be distinct. I think a five-yard pass has a higher probability to find its target than just launching it all the time.'

The overarching numbers present grim reading. Newport have won 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 won a game 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 force at home,' Fuchs says. {'It’s just not acceptable, not even having a win. We need to construct a stronghold.'

Still a Player at Heart

By his own acknowledgement, Fuchs likes a challenge. {'What’s so wrong 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 at heart,' he remarks, tapping his chest. {'At training I’m always joining in in the boxes – two pannas already, brilliant! I want us to see each other as one team. Yes, you’re the ones on the field, but we’re one team, we’re tackling this as one.'