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Brendan Rodgers has warned Mario Balotelli he needs to work harder if he’s going to force his way into the Liverpool side.

The Reds boss says the £16million striker was right to insist on taking the late penalty which secured a narrow Europa League win over Besiktas on Thursday night.

But Rodgers wasn’t impressed by Balotelli’s effort and application after the goal and is demanding better ahead of Sunday’s crucial Premier League trip to Southampton.

The Italian has shown signs of transforming his Liverpool career recently with a trio of eye-catching cameos after coming off the bench. Late winners against Tottenham and Besiktas were sandwiched by an assist at Crystal Palace but it’s clear that he still faces a battle to establish himself at Anfield.

“Well, if he works harder than when he came on, he will do,” Rodgers said.

Asked if he was happy with Balotelli’s performance against Besiktas, he added: “No, not really, no.

“We need to ensure that whatever level of the game we are playing at we have everyone working as a team and once we get the penalty he stops working.

“He needs to improve on that facet of his game to play in his position, rather than standing on the side of the football field.

“He has contributed by scoring the goal but that is what he is paid to do. He needs to keep that efficiency in his game and show that he can affect the team whether he is asked to play from the bench or from the start.”

Rodgers insists he will always demand more than just goals from the former Manchester City frontman.

“In a different country and a different style of football that would be all that matters but in this team here it is more than that,” he said.

The Northern Irishman did give the controversial striker his backing over the penalty furore after Balotelli insisted on taking the ball off stand-in skipper Jordan Henderson.

Injured captain Steven Gerrard had previously described Balotelli’s actions as “mischievous” and “disrespectful”.

“Steven and Mario are the top two penalty takers, but obviously neither of them were on the pitch at the start so you have to nominate someone,” he said.

“Jordan was nominated, but when we had a penalty Mario had come onto the field. So Jordan, being someone with responsibility and trust, gave the penalty to Mario so there was no issue.

“There was a little bit of a kerfuffle around it because he wanted to make sure Mario was happy to take it, but that was it really.

“If you are the vice-captain and the captain comes off the bench it’s the etiquette to go and give him the armband. For me it’s a similar thing with the penalty.

“If Steven is on the field there is no drama as he takes the penalty. He’s the first choice penalty taker.

“After that if Mario is on the field he takes the penalty. His history shows he has scored nearly 30 penalties in big games. He’s an outstanding penalty taker.”

Rodgers insisted he had no issues with Gerrard’s comments on TV and praised Henderson for how he dealt with the situation.

“Football is full of opinions and everyone has their right to their opinions. My job is to protect the team,” he said.

“Jordan showed what a team player he was. He respected Mario’s position that he’s an outstanding penalty taker. Young Jordan showed his maturity and Mario had the calmness and composure to score.

“I think people see Jordan as an automatic next captain but that’s not necessarily the case. He’s still a young player and we have to go steady with Jordan. Everyone is trying to catapult him into the next Steven Gerrard. He’s not that. I’ve said many times he’s not that type of player.”

Rodgers admits Sunday’s game at St Mary’s is a pivotal battle in the race for Champions League qualification. Fourth placed Saints are four point better off than the Reds, who are unbeaten in their last nine league matches.

“It’s a big game for both teams,” he said.

“Southampton have been terrific this season. Ronald Koeman has come in and done an excellent job there. They find themselves in the top four and deservedly so because they’ve played very well and have some outstanding platers. We know it’s going to be tough but we have the tools to go anywhere and win.

“The confidence and character of this team is in a great moment. We’ve scored 18 goals now in the last 15 minutes of games - that shows the mentality and drive in the team.”

Gerrard will miss the trip to the south coast due to a hamstring injury, while Lucas Leiva, Jon Flanagan, Brad Jones and Jose Enrique also remain sidelined.