As Wolves head to Brighton on Monday night looking to make it four consecutive top flight wins for the first time in almost 50 years, captain Maximilian Kilman believes his team still have 'a lot more to achieve'.
The centre-back admits the 2023/24 season has been one of surprises for those in Old Gold, with the team being given the aim of Premier League survival before a ball was kicked. But with the improvements that have been made under Gary O’Neil, Kilman insists the team is looking up, rather than down, but will be taking the rest of the campaign one game at a time, starting with the Premier League trip to the Amex, before a Black Country derby at the Hawthorns awaits next Sunday.
On Wolves’ form so far this season
“Given how this season started, I think we’ve done really well. We’re in a good position now, but we’ve still got a whole lot more to achieve, but hopefully we can finish the season strong.
“We’ve not been a team that have won three games on the bounce, but we’re at that stage now so hopefully we can continue as much as we can and go on as long of a run as we can.”
On the team improving under O’Neil
“It’s been very enjoyable and he’s given everyone in each position different pictures of what he wants us to do with the ball. You could see this season with how many goals we’ve scored, we’ve been much higher than in previous seasons, so he’s been very good at that, and we’ve been playing more attacking football which is very enjoyable for the Wolves fans to see as well.
“It’s about doing the right things. We had been putting in good performances and sometimes the results weren’t great, especially at the start of the season. But now things are really gelling, really kicking in and we just need to carry on and keep the momentum.”
𝗜𝗙 𝗠𝗢𝗟𝗜𝗡𝗘𝗨𝗫 𝗪𝗔𝗦 𝗔 𝗠𝗢𝗩𝗜𝗘 🎞️🤌 pic.twitter.com/6U6Df4KbBF
— Wolves (@Wolves) January 19, 2024
On what this side could achieve
“It’s hard to say what success would be for us this season because we can do so much more. We’ve done quite well in the first half of the season, but we’ve got a lot more to achieve. We can still do a lot more, so we just have to be ready for each game and hopefully we can get as far up the table as we can.
“At the start of the season, the plan was to stay in the Premier League, especially with the amount of changes at the club, but now, we’re at the stage where we want to push because we’re in a good position.
“We’re not going to set goals on where we want to finish, because we take it game by game and, hopefully, we will see how far we get by the end of the season.”
On replicating home form away
“We’ve based a lot of our good form on playing at home, especially the end of last season, all of our big results came at home. But even this season, we’ve been quite good at home, so playing at Molineux gives us a massive boost.
“The fans are very loud and they create that atmosphere which makes it difficult for other teams. So we know when we play at home we need to push and try and get a good result, no matter who we are playing against.”
On an FA Cup Black Country derby
“When the draw came, we still had the replay against Brentford, so we all knew what could happen if we put in a good performance against Brentford, and if we did that, we’d set up a derby.
“I only played in the derby for 10 minutes when I came on as a late sub during the Covid season, so I didn’t feel the atmosphere. For me, to experience the Black Country derby with the fans, away from home, it’s going to be a really good atmosphere.”
On his progression in old gold
“My route has been very different to most players. I came from non-league and played for Marlow who were seventh/eighth division of the English league, and then Maidenhead, so I think my journey’s been very different. But it’s also shaped my character and how I am as a player.
“When I first came to Wolves, I wasn’t playing so much but I was doing a lot of work in training. I just thought that when I got my chance to play and could solidify my place in the team, I wanted to take it and make sure I stayed as fit as possible and just be available for each matchweek and every game. That was most important for me.”
