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'I estimate that the likelihood of us turning the season around are less than Leicester winning the Premier League, so they are in our favor, right?' The Austrian veteran is reflecting on his recent venture as head coach of the League Two strugglers, and the monumental task of averting a drop into non-league football. It is a challenge at the polar opposite of the spectrum, though that fairytale title win in 2016 provided him with far more than a champion's gong. {'It contributed to shifting my perspective a little bit ... it demonstrated that the impossible can be attainable,' he states.

The Surprising Path to Rodney Parade

The obvious place to start is: what brought Fuchs end up here? 'I imagine that's the part that's not logical, right?' he comments, breaking into a chuckle. It is the 39-year-old's introductory line and a clear sign of his playful character across a fascinating conversation. Our talk flows in various tangents, from working under Thomas Tuchel and the former Leicester manager to the immediate requirement to find a local barber.

He opens some mail on his desk. Included is a note from a Leicester supporter sending best wishes, paired with a couple of glossy photos from that season. {'Young Fuchs,' he muses, smiling. Another envelope brings a collection of old collector's items, one from an album marking Euro 2016, when he skippered Austria. A greeting from the Newport Supporters’ Club is given special attention. Items like this genuinely makes me very content,' he adds.

A Previous Visit and a Funny Mistake

Prior to coming back from North Carolina to accept his first job in frontline management last month, Fuchs’s previous visit to Rodney Parade was in January 2019, when Leicester were on the end of a Newport cupset in the FA Cup third round. On that occasion a former full-back faced off against Fuchs. {'He had the performance of his career,' Fuchs says. But when the official sheets came out, an interesting error was discovered. {'You need to censor this,' Fuchs says with a smile. 'They got wrong 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 pleasant.'

Insights from Claudio, Rodgers and Tuchel

His move 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 joined the club in the heart of a pre-season camp in Austria and his light-touch approach produced miracles. {'When you look at Claudio you picture an older man, so a veteran of the sport, maybe a bit set in his ways, but he’s anything but,' Fuchs says. {'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 studied you for a week and I’m not going to modify anything.''

Fuchs values experiences 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 mentally?’’ Fuchs says of Tuchel. {'That’s a major part of our philosophy as well. How can you make good thinkers on the pitch? Back then he was probably in a analogous place to where I am now … very driven, very anxious to prove himself.'

Background and a Resolute Mindset

Fuchs’s drive originates in 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 skilled 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 show that I can and put in the hard yards. The other thing about my personality is: I’m quite stubborn. If I see promise, I’m making it happen.'

Detailed Approach and the Fight for Survival

Fuchs’s assistant, Mark Smith, was born in Newport and previously led Fuchs’s Fox Soccer Academy. Fuchs fires up his laptop to show analytics from a recent 2-2 draw, presenting a slide he presented to his players. {'The team hit several season highs,' he says, noting ball progression and statistics about breaking defensive lines. Passing accuracy was shown as 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 different. I think a five-yard pass has a higher percentage to be successful than just launching it all the time.'

The overarching numbers present grim reading. Newport have managed three of 19 league matches and are winless in eight in all competitions. By the time of their next home game, they will have not tasted victory 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 earned a crucial point. {'We need to be a force at home,' Fuchs stresses. {'It’s just not good enough, not even having a win. We need to construct a impenetrable home.'

In the Thick of It at Heart

By his own admission, Fuchs likes a challenge. {'What’s so negative with that?' He ended his playing career less than three years ago and, like Tuchel, enjoys being in the heart of the battle. {'I’m a component of the group. I’m still a player in here,' he says, tapping his chest. {'At training I’m always getting involved in the boxes – two nutmegs already, brilliant! 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 as one.'