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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 corner.' The Austrian veteran is talking about his fresh chapter as head coach of Newport County, and the immense task of averting a drop into non-league football. This represents a challenge at the polar opposite of the spectrum, though that unbelievable title win in 2016 gave him a great deal more than a champion's gong. {'It helped change my mindset a little bit ... it showed that the unattainable can be possible,' he remarks.

The Surprising Path to Rodney Parade

The logical place to start is: what brought Fuchs end up here? 'I guess that's the part that's illogical, right?' he says, letting out a laugh. This remark acts as the 39-year-old's opening gambit and a clear demonstration of his playful character across a colourful conversation. The discussion runs in different directions, from playing for the current England boss and Brendan Rodgers to the pressing need to find a barber in the area.

He looks at some mail on his desk. Among it is a message from a Leicester supporter wishing him well, accompanied by a couple of professional photographs from that memorable year. {'Young Fuchs,' he muses, grinning. Another envelope brings a hoard of old collector's items, one from an album commemorating Euro 2016, when he skippered Austria. A card from the Newport Supporters’ Club is given special attention. Items like this really makes me very happy,' he concludes.

A Prior Encounter and a Funny Mistake

Until coming back from North Carolina to take on his first job in first-team coaching last month, Fuchs’s previous visit to Rodney Parade was in January 2019, when Leicester endured a Newport giantkilling in the FA Cup third round. During that match David Pipe competed with Fuchs. {'He had the game of his career,' Fuchs admits. But when the official sheets came out, an interesting error came to light. {'You need to edit this,' Fuchs jokes. 'They misspelt my name – somehow a 'k' smuggled itself in in place of the 'h'. It is hilarious because Fuchs, in German, means fox, so it’s something nice.'

Lessons from Ranieri, Rodgers and Tuchel

His move to join the Foxes in the summer of 2015 turned out to be inspired. A couple of weeks later Leicester brought in Claudio Ranieri and the rest is history. The Italian arrived at the club in the heart of a pre-season camp in Austria and his observational approach did the trick. {'When you see Claudio you picture an older man, so long in the business, maybe a bit old school, 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 studied you for a week and I’m not going to modify anything.''

Fuchs values insights gained 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 challenge them mentally?’’ Fuchs says of Tuchel. {'That’s a significant part of our approach as well. How can you make good players who choose wisely? Back then he was probably in a analogous place to where I am now … very motivated, very eager to prove himself.'

Origins and a Resolute Nature

Fuchs’s motivation stems from 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 good enough,' he discloses. {'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 can not do this, you can't do that.’ I’m going to show that I can and give absolutely everything. The other thing about my personality is: I’m very stubborn. If I see possibility, I’m making it happen.'

Analytical Approach and the Struggle for Survival

Fuchs’s assistant, Mark Smith, was born in Newport and formerly ran Fuchs’s Fox Soccer Academy. Fuchs boots up his laptop to show data from a recent 2-2 draw, displaying a slide he showed his players. {'The team hit numerous season highs,' he explains, noting ball progression and statistics about penetrating defensive lines. Passing accuracy was shown as 87%. {'Not satisfied with that … that needs to be in the mid-90s,' he insists. {'My first game, it was very long-ball, League Two football, but we want to be unique. I think a five-yard pass has a higher percentage to arrive than just going long all the time.'

The broader numbers make sobering 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 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 secured a valuable point. {'We need to be a power at home,' Fuchs says. {'It’s just not good enough, not even having a win. We need to build a stronghold.'

One of the Lads at Heart

By his own admission, Fuchs relishes a challenge. {'What’s so bad with that?' He ended his playing career less than three years ago and, like Tuchel, loves being in the middle of the action. {'I’m a member of the group. I’m still a player inside,' he remarks, pointing to his chest. {'At training I’m always joining in in the drills – two nutmegs already, brilliant! I want us to view each other as a unified group. Yes, you’re the ones on the field, but we’re all in this together, we’re striving towards this collectively.'