Maximilian Kilman relished his first opportunity to pull on the West Ham United shirt on Monday afternoon.
The summer arrival from Wolverhampton Wanderers played from the start in the Hammers' pre-season opener in Kitzbühel, as they came from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 with Hungarian champions Ferencváros.
Centre-back Kilman played under new Hammers Head Coach Julen Lopetegui at Molineux and has enjoyed getting back to work under the Spaniard.
The squad have been in Austria for a week-long training camp, with Kilman explaining that environment has helped them hit the ground running.
"I loved it," he beamed. "Obviously it’s my first game with West Ham, with the boys doing my best, and I enjoyed it.
"We’ve been here in Austria for a week and the manager has been working us really hard. We’re getting into it, getting used to the new way we want to play and it’s new to everyone.
"It’s tough [work], but we’ve really enjoyed it and slowly we’re going to progress."
Kilman has only been a Hammer for little more than a week, but is already feeling at home.
He says his first impressions are of a united squad and he cannot wait to play his part in helping the team to grow.
"All the boys have made me feel really welcome and it shows how tight the group is together," he added. "I’m really pleased and I want to keep working and keep going.
"[The Head Coach] wants to get the best out of all of us. We want to learn, we want to improve, we want to get to the best we can and that’s the most important thing.
"I’ve enjoyed every bit of it in Austria and I can’t wait to just keep going and keep enjoying it."
Kilman's next opportunity to play alongside his new teammates will come at Dagenham & Redbridge this Saturday, when the Hammers take on their National League neighbours in a 3pm kick-off. Tickets are available for the Chigwell Construction Stadium fixture HERE.
This coming Sunday will see the squad fly to the United States for our two-match Sunshine State Tour to Florida. There, Kilman and company will take on Wolverhampton Wanderers at Jacksonville’s Everbank Stadium on Saturday 27 July and Crystal Palace on at Tampa’s Raymond James Stadium on Saturday 3 August, with both games kicking-off at 7pm local time. Click HERE to secure your seats for our Stateside Cup games now!
