• Premier League

United spell hurt my confidence, says Zaha

Crystal Palace winger Wilfried Zaha admits his confidence needs rebuilding after his nightmare move to Manchester United.

Zaha signed for United in January 2013 but failed to impress either David Moyes or Louis van Gaal and made just four first-team appearances for the club.

A loan move back to Palace was made permanent last month and Zaha admits he is glad to have put an end to his miserable time on the sidelines.

Wilfried Zaha made just four first-team appearances at Manchester United © Getty Images

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"If you're not playing, it's just, 'what am I doing?' Not playing at all hit my confidence but now I am playing again," Zaha said.

"There were other clubs interested but in my mind I wanted to come back to Palace. It is somewhere I like and it's definitely the club I want to be at.

"I am back home. Everything is local to me, my family my friends. I just play football and go home with a smile on my face."

Zaha was in and out of the Palace team under Neil Warnock earlier this season but the 22-year-old has started five out of the seven games since Alan Pardew took charge.

"He [Pardew] is just trying to get my confidence back up really and he told me to concentrate a bit more during games," Zaha said.

"During games I sometimes switch off or whatever - he has told me to work hard on my concentration and have a bit more belief in my game."

Zaha added: "The defensive side is one side of my game that I have to make better. I'm just trying to do as much as I can for the team."

Palace host Liverpool in the fifth round of the FA Cup on Saturday, hoping for a repeat of their 3-1 league victory at Selhurst Park in November.

Brendan Rodgers' side have, however, enjoyed an upturn in form since the turn of the year, losing just once in their last 15 matches.

"Staying in the Premier League is definitely the priority - that's one of the biggest things for the club," Zaha said.

"But a decent cup run would be the icing on the cake for us. We are playing quite well right now, we just have the confidence to play well against any team.

"[Liverpool midfielder] Raheem Sterling is a pretty good mate of mine - we haven't started texting each other about it yet, I'll probably just see him at the game.

"I don't know what our chances are of winning the tournament but it seems if you are playing well then any team has a chance."

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