Tim Ream certainly isn’t the shy and retiring type. The Fulham centre back feels that people have been trying to talk him into hanging up his boots already. He’s proven all of them wrong with a remarkable Premier League season, where he shone at the age of 35 as the Whites finished tenth on their return to the top flight, and ended up playing every minute of the United States’ World Cup campaign in Qatar after only just sneaking into Gregg Berhalter’s squad. That taste of a major tournament has left him wanting more.

Ream, always a man ready to set new goals, has targeted playing until the World Cup is played in his homeland in 2026. The quality of his performances at the heart of Marco Silva’s defence – where he has frequently held some of the world’s best forwards at bay over the course of the last year – suggest he could easily do it. The St.-Louis-native told ESPN in a wide-ranging interview:

“It had been a whirlwind for me. I was proud, though. I knew how much my wife and my kids sacrificed so I could go out and be there on the pitch. It was an unbelievable experience, and when that final whistle went against the Netherlands, I thought ‘OK, this is it, I’ve made 50 or so appearances for the U.S. team, I’ve made it to a World Cup and I’ve achieved my dream. But the more I thought about it, I thought, ‘Why can’t I get to another one?’ I had that taste and I’m like, ‘I want another one.’ So that’s where I’m at. I sometimes feel like people are trying to retire me, but I’m not ready for that.”

“I set out to play in every Fulham match, maybe not the World Cup bit as I’d been out of the picture for a year at that point. But that’s my goal heading into every season: to play every single game. And whether that’s because I want to, or because I can, it comes back to the fact I am still trying to prove myself every single day, every single week. This allows me to push myself and get the best out of myself each year. You have to prove yourself over and over again.”

Ream’s outstanding redemption season means more after being jettisoned by Scott Parker during Fulham’s miserable relegation campaign two years earlier, despite having been a key player in the side that had delivered promotion at the first attempt during Parker’s first full season in charge.

“I’d say that season was the toughest spell of my career. You go into training thinking, ‘What am I training for? He’s not going to play me, he’s not speaking to me. What happens at the end of the year or in six months?’ It’s difficult. Obviously when I’m in training I was going to train hard, put the work in. Some guys will toss it off, be bad trainers and throw their toys out of the pram. But that’s not my style. So I made a decision to come in and work hard. I started to read a lot of books to take my mind off the situation.”

“Joe [Bryan] and I sat at the front of the bus that season together, had a lot of different, interesting conversations and some of the books were passed between us. I think when you see someone sitting next to you that’s going through the same thing, you have that shared bond. I’m not one for sitting there and collecting a paycheck. It’s not my style. It came down to the last day, and I was ready for a move. I was ready to drive wherever I needed to go, but in the end the club interested went in a different direction, they went for a younger option. It’s fine at the end of the day, and it all works out in the end. It definitely worked out for me.”

The transformation from being ready to pursue a new challenge in the January transfer window to becoming one of the club’s most consistent defenders has been remarkable and Ream attributes that to the arrival of Silva two summers ago.

It was a complete reset. Silva walked in and could see the faces, what had gone on and the mentality of the group. We’d had previously a coach who didn’t really want to be there anymore, but there were players at the club that did want to be here, so it felt like we were in a different place. It’s been fun. It’s been hard, but the level of care Marco’s had for each individual guy who is playing or isn’t playing has been key. He pushes us, but it’s been fun and that’s key.”

The American is adamant he won’t be resting on his laurels. He knows that another pre-season and a gruelling Premier League campaign will bring its challenges but there is a steely confidence about a man who has been there, seen it and done it in a Fulham shirt.

I’m not one to sit back and rest on what I’ve done previously. I think that’s the quickest way to fall down the pecking order and the quickest way to find yourself out of the team. It’s the quickest way to find yourself retired at 35 years old. And it’s a matter of, what are my goals this season? Well, they’re the same as last season but you know you’re going to have to work harder as you’re a little bit older, but also a little bit wiser.

I’m proving to myself that I can continue to do it and continue to do it over and over again. I love running with the younger lads, I enjoy keeping up with them and actually leaving them behind in a competitive sort of way. I’m still not retiring. There have been many people who have tried to tell me that it’s time to move on. You get it all the time from people saying, ‘You’re too old’ or ‘You can’t do it anymore.’ I’m living proof that you can.

People are trying to write ‘It’s the final chapter,’ but I still feel fresh. I still feel like playing three, four years and have told people that. I think it’s important that you verbalize what you want to do and put it out there, don’t just sit on it. So that’s my secret, ’cause I just think there’s still things to learn, still things to do.”