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'The prospect of a dramatic turnaround is arguably less likely than that legendary 5,000-1 title, which logically puts the odds in our favor.' The Austrian veteran is talking about his recent venture as manager of the League Two strugglers, and the daunting task of preventing a drop 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 far more than a champion's gong. {'It contributed to shifting my outlook a little bit ... it proved that the impossible can be attainable,' he remarks.

'How Did Fuchs Find Himself Here?'

The obvious place to start is: what was the journey that led Fuchs find himself here? 'That's the element of the story that defies logic, wouldn't you say?' he says, breaking into a laugh. It is the 39-year-old's initial statement and a clear sign of his playful character across a wide-ranging conversation. Our talk runs in multiple pathways, from working under the current England boss and the former Leicester manager to the urgent quest to find a barber in the area.

He looks at some correspondence on his desk. There is a message from a Leicester supporter wishing him well, along with a couple of shiny pictures from that memorable year. {'Young Fuchs,' he says, grinning. Another package brings a collection of old Panini stickers, one from an album marking Euro 2016, when he captained Austria. A card from the Newport Supporters’ Club has pride of place. 'Stuff like this genuinely makes me very content,' he states.

A Past Trip and a Typographical Error

Prior to coming back from North Carolina to assume his first job in first-team coaching last month, Fuchs’s most recent encounter to Rodney Parade was in January 2019, when Leicester were on the end of a Newport giantkilling in the FA Cup third round. On that occasion a former full-back faced off against Fuchs. {'He had the game of his life,' Fuchs admits. But when the lineup cards came out, an interesting error was discovered. {'You need to censor this,' Fuchs says with a smile. 'They misspelt my name – somehow a 'k' smuggled itself in in place of the 'h'. It is amusing because Fuchs, in German, means fox, so it’s something fitting.'

Lessons from Ranieri, 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 came to the club in the middle of a pre-season camp in Austria and his hands-off approach produced miracles. {'When you observe Claudio you envision an elder gentleman, so a veteran of the sport, maybe a bit old school, but he’s the complete opposite,' Fuchs explains. {'He just said he was going to watch 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 lessons learned from Rodgers and Tuchel, under whom he worked while on loan at Mainz. {'He always thought: ‘How can I get additional out of the players? How can I test them mentally?’’ Fuchs says of Tuchel. {'That’s a big part of our approach 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 motivation comes from his upbringing 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: ‘Watch me, 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 demonstrate that I can and put in the hard yards. The other thing about my make-up is: I’m very stubborn. If I see potential, I’m making it happen.'

Detailed Approach and the Battle for Survival

Fuchs’s assistant, Mark Smith, was born in Newport and had been in charge of Fuchs’s Fox Soccer Academy. Fuchs boots up his laptop to show analytics from a recent 2-2 draw, presenting a slide he showed his players. {'The team hit many, many season peaks,' he says, noting ball progression and statistics about penetrating defensive lines. Passing accuracy was recorded at 87%. {'Not satisfied with that … that needs to be in the 90-95% range,' 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 be successful than just going long all the time.'

The overarching numbers paint bleak reading. Newport have managed 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 last-gasp equaliser with 10 men earned a precious point. {'We need to be a dominant side at home,' Fuchs emphasizes. {'It’s just not good enough, not even having a win. We need to create a stronghold.'

Still a Player at Heart

By his own acknowledgement, Fuchs enjoys a challenge. {'What’s so bad with that?' He retired less than three years ago and, like Tuchel, loves being in the thick of things. {'I’m a member of the group. I’m still a player at heart,' he says, pointing to his chest. {'At training I’m always getting involved 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 one team, we’re tackling this together.'