LIVERPOOL manager Brendan Rodgers said yesterday that Mario Balotelli has a long way to go to prove that he is good enough to stay at Anfield.

“The Mario Balotelli show is no different to me. He is treated like any other player,” Rodgers said.

“We have an image of a team here, of how we play and work and how we represent the club.

“I like players that are different. I like individual personality in people with hair and coloured boots but as long as they don’t see themselves as an individual that is what is important.

“They have to fit into the parameters of the team and if those players over the longer term don’t it can be difficult for them to work here.”

But the Reds boss admitted that the Italian is “genuinely working hard and doing his best.”

Balotelli found himself in hot water with Rodgers after Wednesday night’s Champions League defeat to Real Madrid, when he was spotted exchanging shirts with opponent Pepe as the pair walked down the tunnel at half-time.

But Rodgers said that the matter was now “closed.”