Since Dawson arrived from West Ham United in January, he and Kilman have started each Premier League game together, and Kilman believes Dawson’s 253 Premier League appearances is having an influence within Julen Lopetegui’s squad. Wolves head into Saturday’s clash with Leeds United looking to bounce back from defeat last time out, and Kilman insists the squad go into each game confident, thanks in large part to the work of Lopetegui.
On Dawson’s impact
“He’s been really good. You can see his quality, he’s a leader and a very experienced player who has played many games in the Premier League. He’s been a great addition to the squad. We have a lot of great players in each position and it’s good. It’s great to have more experience and top level players in our team.
“Me, Nathan and Toti are learning a lot from ‘Dawse’. We have really good centre halves, so it’s good competition in each position, and I think it’s what the manager wanted. It’s good for everyone, everyone works hard and pushes each other to do better, so when we come to games, we can do our best.”
On playing under Lopetegui
“It’s been great, I’ve really enjoyed it. We’ve got a great team and great coaching staff, so everything’s gone really well and I’m happy. I just need to keep my head down, keep going and do my best. We’ve got a lot to achieve for the rest of the season and we can climb the table even further, so we need to keep our heads down, keep working and see where we come to at the end.
“He’s really made a difference, but it’s not just him, it’s also his staff. We’ve all worked really hard and fortunately we had a lot of time together with the off-season because of the World Cup. We’ve really gelled now, but we’ve obviously got some tough games coming up and we need to make sure that we’re at it and we’re ready.”
On building momentum
“Since the manager came in, we’ve got a lot more togetherness and we’re defending much better as a team and creating more chances going forward. Overall, it’s going well, but there’s a lot for us to do, we’re not anywhere yet, we need to keep going and keep performing. These last 11 games are really big and hopefully we’ll do our best and see where we finish at the end of the season.”
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On the continued challenge of the Premier League
“This part of the season, we’ve played much better as a team, been more together and performed much better. Regardless of if it’s been a win or a loss, we still feel really confident going into games. We know the quality we have and the way we’re playing is working really well. We’re all quite confident going into each game right now so it’s good.
“The pressure has been different this year as it’s been a difficult season, but it’s part and parcel of being a professional football that you have to deal with different situations. This season has not been great, but we’ve pushed on and we’ve climbed up the table and now coming into the final 11 games of the season we can push on even more and try to finish in a good position.”
