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'I would say that the chances of us transforming our fortunes are slimmer than Leicester lifting the Premier League, so they are in our favour, right?' The Austrian veteran is reflecting on his recent venture as head coach of Newport County, and the immense task of staving off 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 provided him with far more than a Premier League trophy. {'It helped change my outlook a little bit ... it showed that the unthinkable can be achievable,' he notes.

'How Did Fuchs Find Himself Here?'

The obvious place to start is: how did Fuchs end up here? 'That's the aspect of the story that isn't straightforward, wouldn't you say?' he states, erupting in laughter. It is the 39-year-old's introductory line and a clear sign of his engaging character across a fascinating conversation. Discourse runs in multiple pathways, from being managed by Thomas Tuchel and Brendan Rodgers to the immediate requirement to find a barber in the area.

He looks at some mail on his desk. Included is a message from a Leicester supporter sending best wishes, along with a couple of glossy photos from that campaign. {'Young Fuchs,' he remarks, smiling. Another delivery brings a collection of old Panini stickers, one from an album celebrating Euro 2016, when he captained Austria. A card from the Newport Supporters’ Club is displayed prominently. Items like this makes me very happy,' he adds.

A Prior Encounter and a Funny Mistake

Prior to coming back from North Carolina to assume his first job in senior management 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. On that occasion David Pipe duelled against Fuchs. {'He had the match of his career,' Fuchs admits. But when the lineup cards dropped, an curious error came to light. {'You need to edit this,' Fuchs remarks. 'They misspelled my name – somehow a 'k' smuggled itself in in place of the 'h'. It is funny because Fuchs, in German, means fox, so it’s something nice.'

Insights from Ranieri, Rodgers and Tuchel

His choice to join the Foxes in the summer of 2015 was inspired. A couple of weeks later Leicester brought in Claudio Ranieri and an iconic story unfolded. The Italian came to the club in the midst of a pre-season camp in Austria and his hands-off approach produced miracles. {'When you see Claudio you envision an seasoned professional, so experienced in the game, maybe a bit traditional, but he’s anything but,' Fuchs says. {'He just said he was going to monitor 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 watched you for a week and I’m not going to modify anything.''

Fuchs holds dear experiences from Rodgers and Tuchel, under whom he worked while on loan at Mainz. {'He always considered: ‘How can I get additional out of the players? How can I challenge them psychologically?’’ Fuchs says of Tuchel. {'That’s a big 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 motivated, very keen to prove himself.'

Origins and a Resolute Mindset

Fuchs’s determination comes from 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 capable enough,' he shares. {'There are people who let that defeat them or there are people who say: ‘Fuchs you, I’m going to show you.’ I’ve been told too many times: ‘You can not 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 make-up is: I’m very stubborn. If I see possibility, I’m doing 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 statistics from a recent 2-2 draw, sharing a slide he presented to his players. {'The team hit many, many season bests,' he says, highlighting ball progression and statistics about penetrating defensive lines. Passing accuracy was shown as 87%. {'Not happy with that … that needs to be in the mid-90s,' he states. {'My first game, it was very direct, League Two 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 broader numbers make bleak 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 won a game 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 garnered a precious 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 fortress.'

In the Thick of It at Heart

By his own admission, Fuchs likes a challenge. {'What’s so negative with that?' He hung up his boots less than three years ago and, like Tuchel, likes being in the thick of things. {'I’m a component of the group. I’m still a player at heart,' he says, indicating his chest. {'At training I’m always joining in in the drills – two megs already, get in! I want us to regard each other as a unified group. Yes, you’re the ones on the field, but we’re all in this together, we’re working on this together.'