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'I would say that the odds of us reviving our campaign are slimmer than Leicester claiming the Premier League, so they are in our favour, right?' The Austrian veteran is reflecting on his new life as head coach of Newport County, and the immense task of averting a descent into non-league football. Here lies a challenge at the polar opposite of the spectrum, though that fairytale title win in 2016 furnished him much more than a Premier League trophy. {'It helped change my perspective a little bit ... it proved that the unthinkable can be possible,' he notes.

'How Did Fuchs End Up Here?'

The natural place to start is: how did Fuchs wind up here? 'That's the aspect of the story that isn't straightforward, wouldn't you say?' he says, erupting in a chuckle. This serves as the 39-year-old's opening gambit and a clear demonstration of his engaging character across a wide-ranging conversation. Our talk runs in various tangents, from working under Thomas Tuchel and the former Leicester manager to the urgent quest to find a nearby hairdresser.

He looks at some post on his desk. Included is a note from a Leicester supporter offering encouragement, accompanied by a couple of glossy photos from that campaign. {'Young Fuchs,' he remarks, grinning. Another package brings a stash of old Panini stickers, one from an album marking Euro 2016, when he captained Austria. A greeting from the Newport Supporters’ Club is given special attention. Items like this genuinely makes me very content,' he states.

A Prior Encounter and a Funny Mistake

Until his move back from North Carolina to assume his first job in frontline management last month, Fuchs’s previous visit to Rodney Parade was in January 2019, when Leicester suffered a Newport cupset in the FA Cup third round. That day the Newport kit man competed with Fuchs. {'He had the performance of his life,' Fuchs admits. But when the lineup cards came out, an curious error came to light. {'You need to redact this,' Fuchs jokes. '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.'

Lessons from The Tinkerman, Rodgers and Tuchel

His decision to join the Foxes in the summer of 2015 was a masterstroke. A couple of weeks later Leicester hired Claudio Ranieri and the rest is history. The Italian came to the club in the middle of a pre-season camp in Austria and his observational approach did the trick. {'When you see Claudio you imagine an seasoned professional, so a veteran of the sport, maybe a bit traditional, but he’s anything but,' Fuchs explains. {'He just said he was going to watch training in Austria for the first week. He didn’t get involved 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 change 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 approach as well. How can you make good thinkers on the pitch? Back then he was probably in a comparable position to where I am now … very focused, very keen to prove himself.'

Roots and a Resolute Character

Fuchs’s motivation comes from his childhood 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 reveals. {'There are people who let that overcome them or there are people who say: ‘Watch me, I’m going to show you.’ I’ve been told too many times: ‘You cannot do this, you can not do that.’ I’m going to show that I can and put in the hard yards. The other thing about my character is: I’m very determined. If I see potential, I’m doing it.'

Detailed Approach and the Fight 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 data from a recent 2-2 draw, presenting a slide he used with his players. {'The team hit several season bests,' he says, highlighting ball progression and statistics about getting behind defensive lines. Passing accuracy was logged at 87%. {'Not satisfied with that … that needs to be in the 90-95% range,' he insists. {'My first game, it was very long-ball, lower-league football, but we want to be distinct. I think a five-yard pass has a higher probability to find its target than just hoofing it all the time.'

The general numbers make grim reading. Newport have managed 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 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 secured a precious point. {'We need to be a dominant side at home,' Fuchs emphasizes. {'It’s just not satisfactory, not even having a win. We need to build a stronghold.'

Still a Player at Heart

By his own confession, Fuchs likes a challenge. {'What’s so bad with that?' He ended his playing career less than three years ago and, like Tuchel, enjoys being in the middle of the action. {'I’m a member of the group. I’m still a player inside,' he remarks, indicating his chest. {'At training I’m always getting involved in the boxes – two pannas already, yes! I want us to view each other as a single unit. Yes, you’re the ones on the field, but we’re all in this together, we’re striving towards this collectively.'