Roberto Mancini: 'Mario Balotelli must train well'

Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini has said that Mario Balotelli must train hard if he is to win a regular place in his starting lineup.

The Italian is currently involved in a dispute with the club regarding a £340,000 fine for poor discipline last season, which caused him to miss a total of 11 competitive matches.

However, Mancini has said that the 22-year-old can still win a place against Reading on Saturday if he trains well.

"He needs to train," said Mancini. "I don't think he was happy about [the fine], but when he starts to show his quality he will play again.

"We won the title last year because all the strikers scored a lot of goals. I wanted it to be the same this year.

"So if a player like Mario is not performing, then he will stay at home."

Balotelli has scored one goal in 13 league appearances.