Quotes from Wilfried Zaha

I just come to training, work hard, go home, prepare for the game, then play.

The Ivory Coast had been begging for ages. The country and the fans love me already, and I haven't even done anything. I may not get the red carpet - it may not have the same Nike deals as when you play for England - but I'm going to be playing, I'm going to be loved, and that's all I want. Nothing else.

I want to be able to give the best of myself to the team and contribute with my team-mates to winning more titles.

To be honest, if you are not the manager's cup of tea, you can't do anything about it.

As for me not playing for England, I've got no regret at all.

Play well, play regularly, and score goals. Nothing else.

There is nothing worse than not being involved. You are sitting there thinking, 'What exactly am I? A footballer who is not playing football?' You feel a bit worthless sitting in the stands, watching all the time.

Now I want to play with the Ivory Coast. It has been rewarding, firstly because I am proud to play for my country, then because the Ivorian selection has quality players and has always been a reservoir of talent.

Going through games, making silly mistakes, you'll need the manager to tell each individual what they are doing wrong.

Just because I don't smile a lot, people think, 'Ah, yeah. He must have a bad attitude.' But if you don't know me, you don't know me. That was the problem. My face is just serious!

My dad used to take me to training in bangers, and we used to push the car. He would do whatever it would take, so I owe my family.

Not everyone can say they were signed by Sir Alex Ferguson and Man United.

Ivory Coast, even though I told them no at first, they still had the belief in me and still wanted me because they knew what I could do for the team.

I have a smile on my face because I am back on the pitch.

Me going to a big club when I was, like, 19 or 20, I didn't know what to expect, how to behave, whatever. I was just a youngster who wanted to do tricks. I didn't even care about end product, really.

At the pace I'm running, trying to get the ball, the slightest touch could trip me over. You don't have to literally push me over. That's what people don't understand. But unless you're able to run that fast, you'll never understand.

Everyone at United made me really feel at home. They are decent lads at United - all of them.

I'd never look at someone and think he's better than me, unless it's Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi.

The thing was, if I had a bad game, I was 'the Man United reject.' If I had a good game, it was 'Man United star on loan.' And I just thought, 'I don't need that anymore.' One minute, I was hero; the next minute, I was zero. I just didn't need it. I'd rather just play football.

If Man United and Liverpool fans feel better by calling me a black monkey in my messages... feel free to carry on if it makes your day better.

I've spoken with Raheem Sterling and Jordan Henderson, and they say the Premier League's the place to be. It's where I want to get to, and getting there with Palace would be nice.

Fans give me abuse all the time. Nearly every team does that. If I wasn't a good player, you wouldn't feel like you need to boo me the whole game. So do that if it makes you feel better, but it does spur me on. It's like, 'You expect something from me; that's why you're doing this,' so I don't mind it. They can boo me all day long, really.

My mum says that, when I was a couple of months old and couldn't even stand up yet, I'd try and kick a ball. She knew I'd be into football. Maybe I was just destined to do this.

I am a normal guy. I muck about; I play around with my nieces. The only thing is I need to be professional when I am out and conduct myself in a certain way. I still live a normal lifestyle.