Liverpool striker Mario Balotelli has admitted that he needs to improve aspects of his game in order to pose more of a goalscoring threat.

The Italy international has scored just once for the Merseyside outfit following his arrival from AC Milan in the summer transfer window for a reported £16m fee.

The 24-year-old has admitted that he prefers to play alongside a strike partner, but the forward insists that he needs to adapt his role for manager Brendan Rodgers, especially while his teammate Daniel Sturridge remains injured.

In an interview with Sport magazine, Balotelli said: "I need to get in the box more. All the rumours I hear about that – these ones are true. I don't do it enough, but it is something I am working to try to do more.

"I have never been a real, out-and-out striker – I have always been someone who goes around the pitch, you know? If it was my choice, I would always 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."

Balotelli is expected to play in this Sunday's Premier League match against Queens Park Rangers.