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'I reckon that the chances of us turning the season around are lower than Leicester claiming the Premier League, so they are in our benefit, right?' The Austrian veteran is talking about his recent venture as head coach of Newport County, and the monumental task of preventing a drop into non-league football. This represents a challenge at the complete other end of the spectrum of success, though that fairytale title win in 2016 gave him a great deal more than a Premier League trophy. {'It helped change my mindset a little bit ... it demonstrated that the impossible can be achievable,' he states.

The Surprising Path to Rodney Parade

The natural place to start is: what brought Fuchs wind up here? 'I suppose that's the part that's illogical, right?' he states, breaking into a laugh. It is the 39-year-old's introductory line and a clear indication of his engaging character across a wide-ranging conversation. The discussion runs in multiple pathways, from playing for the current England boss and Brendan Rodgers to the urgent quest to find a local barber.

He sorts through some mail on his desk. There is a note from a Leicester supporter sending best wishes, accompanied by a couple of shiny pictures from that memorable year. {'Young Fuchs,' he muses, smiling. Another package brings a hoard of old Panini stickers, one from an album marking Euro 2016, when he led Austria. A card from the Newport Supporters’ Club is given special attention. Items like this really makes me very content,' he adds.

A Prior Encounter and a Funny Mistake

Until his move back from North Carolina to take on his first job in frontline management last month, Fuchs’s most recent encounter to Rodney Parade was in January 2019, when Leicester were on the end of a Newport shock defeat in the FA Cup third round. That day a former full-back duelled against Fuchs. {'He had the game of his life,' Fuchs says. But when the teamsheets came out, an interesting error was discovered. {'You need to censor this,' Fuchs says with a smile. '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.'

Lessons from Ranieri, Rodgers and Tuchel

His decision 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 joined the club in the middle of a pre-season camp in Austria and his observational approach worked wonders. {'When you see Claudio you picture an seasoned professional, so long in the business, maybe a bit traditional, but he’s so not,' Fuchs says. {'He just said he was going to monitor 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 watched you for a week and I’m not going to change anything.''

Fuchs holds dear insights gained from Rodgers and Tuchel, under whom he worked while on loan at Mainz. {'He always considered: ‘How can I get more 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 similar situation to where I am now … very driven, very anxious to prove himself.'

Roots and a Determined Character

Fuchs’s motivation stems 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 shares. {'There are people who let that get the better of 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 not do that.’ I’m going to show that I can and give absolutely everything. The other thing about my character is: I’m quite determined. If I see promise, 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 opens his laptop to show analytics from a recent 2-2 draw, presenting a slide he presented to his players. {'The team hit numerous season bests,' he explains, noting ball progression and statistics about penetrating defensive lines. Passing accuracy was logged at 87%. {'Not satisfied with that … that needs to be in the mid-90s,' he states. {'My first game, it was very long-ball, lower-league football, but we want to be different. I think a five-yard pass has a higher percentage to be successful than just hoofing it all the time.'

The general numbers paint sobering reading. Newport have won 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 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 crucial point. {'We need to be a power at home,' Fuchs stresses. {'It’s just not satisfactory, not even having a win. We need to create a stronghold.'

In the Thick of It at Heart

By his own acknowledgement, Fuchs likes a challenge. {'What’s so wrong with that?' He hung up his boots less than three years ago and, like Tuchel, loves being in the heart of the battle. {'I’m a member of the group. I’m still a player at heart,' he states, tapping his chest. {'At training I’m always participating in the boxes – two megs already, yes! I want us to see each other as a single unit. Yes, you’re the ones on the field, but we’re all in this together, we’re working on this together.'