Ilan is revelling in being the first Brazilian at the Boleyn but will not be happy until West Ham United are secure in the Barclays Premier League.
The forward scored a stupendous header late on in Sunday's 2-2 draw at Everton to earn the Hammers a precious point. It was his second goal in six matches since arriving in east London from French football back in February. However, Ilan has yet to cement a place in the side or indeed start a match at home.
That could all change with the visit of Sunderland this week, and Ilan was well aware of the significance of his strike - but was most concerned from a team perspective. "I got a goal against Burnley in my first match but unfortunately we got nothing; this is more important," he told whufc.com.
"I've got a few goals with my head before and it's an important thing in the game here in England so it was a good time to start doing that. It was a perfect ball from Julien Faubert and it made it easy for me."
The header not only earned a share of the spoils, it stopped a run of six straight top-flight defeats for Gianfranco Zola's men and Ilan sees the only way as up. "It's a springboard for us, a new start, we've got five games left and we need to win two or three of them to be in the Premier League next season.
"That's our objective and next Saturday will be another battle. The manager has asked us to fight right till the end. The tactical plan was normal but we have to keep on like this to the end of the season now."
A steady scorer in Ligue 1 for the past five years with FC Sochaux-Montbeliard and AS Saint-Etienne, Ilan has always had an eye for the spectacular. "Confidence isn't a problem for me but I need a run of games and I hope to play some more.
"There are a lot of good players here. I've not had many opportunities but on two, three occasions I have, I've scored a couple of goals. If I get more chances, I might score even more."