Through all the ups and downs of West Ham United’s 2024/25 season, one constant has been Maximilian Kilman.
The centre-back has started all 36 Premier League matches, playing for 3,169 of a possible 3,240 minutes, and leads the Hammers in touches, passes, clearances and blocks made.
The 27-year-old’s defensive prowess was on display in Sunday’s 2-0 victory at Manchester United, where he led his team in clearances and tackles to lead his team to a welcome clean sheet, a first win in eight Premier League matches and a first success at Old Trafford since 2007.
While Kilman led the way defensively, he hailed the commitment shown by his teammates in ending a frustrating run of results and give the Club a boost going into the final two games of the campaign at home to Nottingham Forest and away at Ipswich Town.
“It was unbelievable,” he told West Ham TV. “I think all of us deserve it. We were working really hard. The last couple of months have been tough, but we stuck together.
“We were working really hard in training and Sunday was a big reward that paid off, especially winning and getting a clean sheet at Old Trafford. It’s something that doesn’t happen often, so credit to everyone and we’re all very, very pleased.
“What you need to win at these big teams, big stadiums is for everyone to perform, even the players who come on [from the bench]. The last ten, 15, 20 minutes, they really held it down really well and pushed us towards the end so credit to everyone. I think everyone deserved it, and we scored two really good goals, too.
“We’ve got two more games where we can really end the season on a high. I think these are important to really build on for next season. I think finishing the season strong is always important coming into the next season, so I think that’s our aim and that’s definitely the target for us.”
Kilman had warm words for the performances of Vladimír Coufal and Aaron Cresswell, who showed all their class and professionalism at the end of a week when the two long-serving defenders had been informed they will leave the Club when their contracts expire at the end of June.
“Some of the boys are out of contract at the end of the season and Vlad and Cress put in a great shift,” he observed.
“All four of them (Coufal, Cresswell, Łukasz Fabiański and Danny Ings) are top pros and very good around the training ground. This is my first season and all four of them made me feel really welcome, so they’re going to be a big loss for us.
“We need to get our heads down and kind of come even more together when they leave.”
The soon-to-depart quartet will be part of the squad alongside Kilman when West Ham host Forest at London Stadium on Sunday, when another victory could see the Irons move up another two places in the table if results elsewhere go our way.
Two wins over the Reds and already-relegated Ipswich could well mean a 13th-place finish, above Everton and Wolverhampton Wanderers, given their respective closing fixtures, and while that was not the pre-season target by any means, Kilman says it would send the Londoners into the summer on a positive note.
“For sure. That’s the goal,” the No26 confirmed. “That was the message from the manager after the game – we’ve got two more games that we have to put in good performances and get good results, and I think that’s going to be our target.”
