West Ham's Monday Night Football clash with Wolves is being billed as a must-win for their underfire boss Julen Lopetegui - but Max Kilman says the pressure is being felt by the entire squad.
A 2-0 win at Newcastle after the November international break appeared to signal a turn in fortunes for the inconsistent Hammers, but a flood of goals in the first half against Arsenal at the London Stadium last weekend condemned them to a heavy derby defeat before Leicester capitalised on West Ham's wastefulness in front of goal to land a 3-1 win on Tuesday.
After a big transfer outlay in the summer and expectations the club would kick on with Lopetegui coming in after a difficult finale to David Moyes' tenure, West Ham fans have shown their frustration at the poor start to the season, with some calling for the head coach to be sacked during that loss at the King Power Stadium in midweek.
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- West Ham boss Lopetegui in charge for must-win game against Wolves
Defender Kilman, who played for Lopetegui at Wolves before signing with West Ham in the summer, says it is not just the boss feeling the strain, with his team-mates well aware they have not met the standards expected on a regular enough basis this term.
"It's definitely difficult for all of us," he tells Sky Sports at West Ham's east London base, ahead of a chilly training session. "Of course the manager is under pressure but we're also a lot under pressure.
"We want to perform, we want to get good results. We're at a club like West Ham where we need to be performing and getting good results because that's the level this club want to be at.
"We need to get our heads down and Monday is another big opportunity to get that right and hopefully from there we can push on."
The message from Lopetegui to his players is they have the quality to turn this around and transform their situation. With Bournemouth, Brighton and Southampton following the Wolves fixture, before a brutal double-header around the turn of the year against Liverpool and Manchester City, the time is now for West Ham to put a run of results together.
"Give your best every single day," says Kilman, when asked what Lopetegui has been saying to the squad. "We've got big games coming up so make sure we give 100 per cent as we always do and things will turn."
The message to the West Ham fans? "We're going to do everything we can to change this and for sure we'll come out on the brighter side of it."
Kilman has been one of West Ham's better performers this season but he says every player must push themselves to improve their current situation.
"I think I've done alright but I want to do more," he says when asked for an assessment on his own performances since his £40m switch from Molineux. "I can definitely give more so that's my plan. I just want to keep my head down, keep improving and hopefully things will get even better."
Certainly the game with Wolves will have been one he has had circled in his diary since the fixtures were released, given it was where his career took off and where he became club captain.
But with the predicament West Ham are in - and with struggling Wolves under big pressure themselves - the game has taken on even more significance.
"Every game in the Premier League is so tough," says Kilman. "Wolves are a good side. They've not started the season well but they have got a lot of quality so we need to be ready for that. We all know what we have to do and it's a big task ahead.
"I'd been at Wolves for such a long time and Wolves gave me the opportunity to come to West Ham so I'm grateful for some good memories there but now I'm with West Ham, I need to do my best for West Ham and that's what I'm looking to do now.
"They've got a really good squad, lots of young players that want to do well and they've been doing well for a number of years so it's going to be a big challenge."
'Things can change quickly'
Amid all the speculation about what might happen to Lopetegui should West Ham lose, there is also the flip side - the boost a win would give the entire club.
"It would be huge," says Kilman. "We want to look to go on a little roll and that's what happens if you win a few games in the Premier League. Things can change and they can change really quickly, so that's the plan and we need to make sure we do that.
"You have to take it game by game. I think that's the best mentality to have and you can only look at what's right in front of you, not what's a couple of weeks ahead or months ahead. And hopefully we can kick on from there.
"We've not been as consistent as we've wanted to be but we've shown some glimpses and some good performances in there and that's what we need to look for and build confidence from that."
On that optimistic note, Kilman set back out into the cold as preparations for Wolves on Monday ramped up. The belief at West Ham is it can be a launchpad away from the difficulties they have found themselves in. But the pressure is on.
