Maximilian Kilman believes his West Ham United team is building strongly towards the start of the Premier League season following Saturday’s Betway Cup victory over Celta Vigo.
The Hammers lifted silverware in their final pre-season test before next weekend’s big kick-off against Aston Villa, triumphing 6-5 in a penalty shootout after the Irons and their Spanish visitors played out an entertaining 2-2 draw in the London Stadium sunshine.
Kilman got a useful 90 minutes under his belt against the La Liga side, and had a prime view of the neat interplay between the home team's forwards, which led to beautiful first half goals for Jarrod Bowen and Lucas Paquetá.
The summer arrival from Wolverhampton Wanderers was encouraged by what he saw, and is sure the team can take that into the meeting with the Villans.
“It was great to play at home in front of our fans for the first time,” he explained. “We worked on everything in training this week and we executed the gameplan quite well.
“The manager has worked us really hard in pre-season and everyone is understanding more the way he wants to play.
“He wants us to play out from the back. Of course there will be times when we take a bit of a risk, but it is a calculated risk and if we execute it well we’ll [progress] with more quality.
“We’ve got to keep on working and of course we’ve got one week until the season, so we’re looking forward to it.
“There were a lot of positives to take going into the season next week.”
Kilman was the third of the Hammers’ seven summer signings to date when he made the move south from Wolverhampton Wanderers and he says the integration of the new boys has gone well.
Saturday’s game gave Crysencio Summerville, Niclas Füllkrug and Guido Rodríguez their first opportunity for match minutes and the 27-year-old says the understanding between them all will only grow with each passing day.
“You could see the quality we have up front and just to watch them combine for the two goals was really nice to see,” he added.
“I don’t feel like I’m so new any more with the other lads who have come in since! They’re all really good lads and everyone has welcomed them really well.
“It’s great to a part of and we’re building something good here.”
