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'The prospect of a late surge is arguably a longer shot than that historic 5,000-1 title, which strangely puts the odds in our favour.' The Austrian veteran is talking about his recent venture as head coach of Newport County, and the immense task of averting a fall into non-league football. Here lies a challenge at the polar opposite of the spectrum, though that unbelievable title win in 2016 gave him much more than a winner's medal. {'It helped change my mindset a little bit ... it demonstrated that the unattainable can be attainable,' he notes.

The Surprising Path to Rodney Parade

The logical place to start is: what was the journey that led Fuchs wind up here? 'That's the aspect of the story that isn't straightforward, wouldn't you say?' he comments, letting out a laugh. This remark acts as the 39-year-old's introductory line and a clear indication of his charismatic character across a colourful conversation. The discussion runs in different directions, from playing for Thomas Tuchel and Brendan Rodgers to the pressing need to find a nearby hairdresser.

He opens some correspondence on his desk. There is a note from a Leicester supporter wishing him well, along with a couple of glossy photos from that campaign. {'Young Fuchs,' he muses, with a smile. Another envelope brings a hoard of old Panini stickers, one from an album celebrating Euro 2016, when he skippered Austria. A greeting from the Newport Supporters’ Club is displayed prominently. Things like this makes me very happy,' he adds.

A Previous Visit and a Misspelt Name

Until coming back from North Carolina to assume his first job in senior management last month, Fuchs’s last trip to Rodney Parade was in January 2019, when Leicester endured a Newport cupset in the FA Cup third round. On that occasion the Newport kit man duelled against Fuchs. {'He had the game of his career,' Fuchs admits. But when the teamsheets dropped, an interesting error was discovered. {'You need to edit this,' Fuchs says with a smile. 'They misspelled 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.'

Experiences from Claudio, Rodgers and Tuchel

His choice to join the Foxes in the summer of 2015 proved inspired. A couple of weeks later Leicester hired Claudio Ranieri and an iconic story unfolded. The Italian arrived at the club in the heart of a pre-season camp in Austria and his observational approach worked wonders. {'When you see Claudio you imagine an older man, so long in the business, maybe a bit old school, 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 observed you for a week and I’m not going to modify anything.''

Fuchs holds dear insights gained 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 methodology 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 driven, very eager to prove himself.'

Roots and a Stubborn Mindset

Fuchs’s determination 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 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 not do this, you can not do that.’ I’m going to prove that I can and put in the hard yards. The other thing about my personality is: I’m very stubborn. If I see potential, I’m doing it.'

Detailed Approach and the Struggle for Survival

Fuchs’s assistant, Mark Smith, was born in Newport and had been in charge of Fuchs’s Fox Soccer Academy. Fuchs fires up his laptop to show analytics from a recent 2-2 draw, displaying a slide he used with his players. {'The team hit numerous season highs,' he explains, noting ball progression and statistics about breaking defensive lines. Passing accuracy was recorded at 87%. {'Not pleased with that … that needs to be in the 90-95% range,' he declares. {'My first game, it was very long-ball, fourth-tier football, but we want to be different. I think a five-yard pass has a higher chance to arrive than just launching it all the time.'

The general numbers paint grim 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 last-gasp equaliser with 10 men earned a precious point. {'We need to be a dominant side at home,' Fuchs stresses. {'It’s just not acceptable, not even having a win. We need to construct a stronghold.'

One of the Lads at Heart

By his own acknowledgement, Fuchs likes a challenge. {'What’s so bad with that?' He retired less than three years ago and, like Tuchel, loves being in the heart of the battle. {'I’m a member of the group. I’m still a player inside,' he states, pointing to his chest. {'At training I’m always joining in in the boxes – two pannas already, get in! I want us to view each other as a single unit. Yes, you’re the ones on the field, but we’re a collective, we’re working on this together.'