Maximilian Kilman says he’s grown into the captaincy role and now his focus is on helping Wolves to a strong finish to the campaign.
The Old Gold are hurting from their late FA Cup loss to Coventry City, but still have a lot to play for, sitting ninth with ten games remaining. It was a rare disappointment during an enjoyable and successful first season with the armband for Kilman, who says he’s learned from the club’s recent skippers and is leading the team in his own way under Gary O’Neil.
On relishing the captaincy responsibility
“I’ve enjoyed it so much, captaining this club has been unbelievable – every day when I come in, I love what I’m doing. There’s been an increase in responsibility for sure and we’ve lost a lot of players, and had a lot of change at the club, so as a team we’ve done well to settle everything down and make sure we have the same goal and focus towards it.
“I’ve definitely grown, but I’ve also learned to be myself. I had great examples in Conor Coady and Ruben Neves, two different types of captains, and I’ve got my own way and I’m enjoyed it. It’s going well.”
On dealing with the Coventry loss
“It was tough to take. Obviously, our goal was to get to the next round. Unfortunately, it didn’t happen, but we’ve had this break to recover, recuperate and we’ve got a lot of focus on for the last remaining fixtures of the season.
“Playing just before the internationals, it was difficult because we had so much time until the next game. If you have a game in three days it’s a bit easy to get over, but as a footballer, there are many ups and downs and it’s part of it. We need to make sure as a team we’re all together and ready to tackle the rest of the season.”
Back to business 🫡 pic.twitter.com/bhSNWW0zju
— Wolves (@Wolves) March 28, 2024
On turning attention to Villa
“We’ve had many tough games against Villa and the last few we’ve had some really good games. This is going to be another one and we’re both pushing for something, so need to be ready for that.
“We’ve got a lot of ambition. We don’t set goals for where we’ll finish at the end of the season. The whole season we’ve taken game by game and since the manager came in we’ve implement that strategy, and it’s worked really well for us. We’ve still got lots of tough games to go.”
On Cunha returning from injury
“When he first came in, coming to a new league – the hardest in the world – and I think it takes time for most players to adjust, and you could see that at the start. This season and towards the end of last season, he was showing lots of ability and how good of a player he is, and this season he’s hit the ground running and has been phenomenal. It’s been a shame he’s been out and hopefully he can carry on where he left off. He’s a brilliant character, very funny. He’s got so much joy and a very positive guy, so great to have around.”
On enjoying life under O’Neil
“The amount of detail we get before every game gives us the best opportunity to win games. It’s been great and there’s a lot more to come from us. We’re in a good position. We’ve got a great relationship and he’s got a great relationship with all the players. Him and his staff are really good to work with and we’re all really enjoying working under them.”
