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'The prospect of a seasonal revival is arguably a longer shot than that legendary 5,000-1 title, which somehow puts the odds in our favour.' The Austrian veteran is discussing his fresh chapter as boss of the Football League's bottom club, and the monumental task of averting a descent into non-league football. This represents a challenge at the complete other end of the scale, though that fairytale title win in 2016 provided him with far more than a winner's medal. {'It helped change my mindset 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 was the journey that led Fuchs find himself here? 'That's the part of the story that seems counterintuitive, wouldn't you say?' he states, breaking into a laugh. It is the 39-year-old's initial statement and a clear sign of his engaging character across a fascinating conversation. Our talk travels in different directions, from playing for the current England boss and the former Leicester manager to the pressing need to find a barber in the area.

He sorts through some correspondence on his desk. There is a letter from a Leicester supporter offering encouragement, along with a couple of professional photographs from that season. {'Young Fuchs,' he remarks, grinning. Another envelope brings a hoard of old Panini stickers, one from an album celebrating Euro 2016, when he skippered Austria. A note from the Newport Supporters’ Club is displayed prominently. 'Stuff like this genuinely makes me very content,' he concludes.

A Prior Encounter and a Misspelt Name

Prior to his move back from North Carolina to accept his first job in senior management last month, Fuchs’s most recent encounter to Rodney Parade was in January 2019, when Leicester suffered a Newport cupset in the FA Cup third round. During that match a former full-back faced off against Fuchs. {'He had the game of his life,' Fuchs says. But when the teamsheets were released, an interesting error came to light. {'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 nice.'

Insights from Claudio, Rodgers and Tuchel

His choice to join the Foxes in the summer of 2015 was a masterstroke. A couple of weeks later Leicester hired Claudio Ranieri and what followed is legendary. The Italian came to the club in the heart of a pre-season camp in Austria and his hands-off approach produced miracles. {'When you see Claudio you imagine an older man, so long in the business, maybe a bit traditional, but he’s the complete opposite,' 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 change 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 push them mentally?’’ Fuchs says of Tuchel. {'That’s a big part of our philosophy as well. How can you make good decision-makers? Back then he was probably in a analogous place to where I am now … very driven, very keen to prove himself.'

Roots and a Resolute Nature

Fuchs’s drive originates in his early years 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 skilled enough,' he discloses. {'There are people who let that get the better of them or there are people who say: ‘Forget 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 work my socks off. The other thing about my make-up is: I’m pretty determined. If I see potential, I’m making it happen.'

Analytical 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, displaying a slide he presented to his players. {'The team hit many, many season highs,' he points out, emphasizing ball progression and statistics about breaking defensive lines. Passing accuracy was logged at 87%. {'Not happy with that … that needs to be in the mid-90s,' he insists. {'My first game, it was very physical, lower-league football, but we want to be different. I think a five-yard pass has a higher percentage to find its target than just launching it all the time.'

The general numbers paint bleak reading. Newport have won 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 secured three points 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 valuable point. {'We need to be a force at home,' Fuchs says. {'It’s just not acceptable, not even having a win. We need to build a impenetrable home.'

In the Thick of It at Heart

By his own admission, Fuchs enjoys a challenge. {'What’s so wrong with that?' He retired less than three years ago and, like Tuchel, loves being in the middle of the action. {'I’m a component of the group. I’m still a player at heart,' he says, tapping his chest. {'At training I’m always joining in in the boxes – two megs already, brilliant! I want us to see 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 as one.'