Mario Balotelli has faith that manager Brendan Rodgers can help him become a success at Liverpool.
The striker has had the international break to focus on his club form after being dropped by new Italy coach Antonio Conte, and he is determined to repay the Liverpool fans for their support.
Asked about playing under Rodgers, Balotelli said: ‘He is very good, a strong character, and that comes out in the way the team plays.
‘He can help me improve. He is very open, everybody can talk to him, but first he looks at the person, and second he looks at the footballer. With Brendan, you need to be a good person — you don’t have to be a d***head.
‘I need to get in the box more. It is something I am working to try to do. I have never been a real, out-and-out striker. I have always been someone who goes around the pitch.
‘I would go with two strikers. It’s the way I like to play, but Brendan asked me to play as the first striker. I understand that when the ball comes from wide on the left or right, I need to be in the box, otherwise there might be no-one there at all.
‘I can see the Liverpool fans really like me, although I know that maybe they are a little upset because I haven’t scored (in the Premier League). I see they appreciate I am working hard, which is nice for me.’
Balotelli admitted in Sport magazine: ‘I didn’t know much about the club, but I’ve been surprised. Gerrard is an amazing player. I had not seen much of him, apart from for England, but wow. I think of him as being at the same level as Pirlo.
‘Vision, technique, but he is powerful as well. Stevie can do anything. It’s going to be very difficult for the team to find another player like him in the future.’
Balotelli, 24, has settled in Formby and is trying to avoid the kind of scrapes which characterised his Manchester City spell.
‘I have made mistakes in the past, like everybody did when they were young,’ he said. ‘Off the pitch now, I don’t have any problems because I am always home.
‘Someone told me I had apparently said if I have sex three or four hours before a game, it works for me on the pitch.
‘Trust me, if I have sex four hours before a game I am not able to play. It makes me laugh, but this is not me.’ – Daily Mail