I made a mistake - a bad one - but playing the game I love kept my head straight

KURT ZOUMA | EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW

- Malik Ouzia

AS THE months have passed and the controversy faded, the boos that once followed Kurt Zouma around the country have gradually become more infrequent, less impassioned, less intense. The counteracting "ZOOUUMS", meanwhile, have shed their essence of partisan defiance and morphed into something more jovial, unashamed, guilt-free.

In pitch, the two are similar enough to be almost indistinguishable. Their noisy contrast, though, speaks in microcosm to a footballer's quiet rehabilitation.

It was 16 months ago that Zouma's abhorrent treatment of his pet cat sparked widespread outrage, but as he sits down with Standard Sport for his first newspaper interview since, on the brink of capping something of a personal turnaround at West Ham with European glory, the sense of contrition remains.

"It's been a tough time for me and for my family," the defender says. "We've been through a lot. I made a mistake, I know I made a bad one. I have to say sorry again for what I've done, but life is about moving on."

West Ham fans were the first to do so, but forgiveness was hardly immediate, some even joining the jeers when Zouma turned out against Watford at the height of the storm.

These days, though, the deep, rumbling war cry that accompanies every header Fulham fans will be familiar with the Tim REAAAM equivalent tells of the way Zouma has been readmitted as a figure of near-cult appreciation at the London Stadium.

There is a debt for that support which he feels obliged to clear, Wednesday's Europa Conference League Final against Fiorentina earmarked as the obvious place to square accounts.

"It means a lot to me, hearing the fans scream my name," the Frenchman says. "It gives you extra motivation, you want to win every duel. I want to give it back by winning a trophy. That would be the best feeling."