Manchester City boss Roberto Mancini has insisted he has no plans to give up on the temperamental Mario Balotelli.
GettyImagesRoberto Mancini is hopeful Mario Balotelli can mend his ways
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Mancini revealed at the weekend that he considered substituting Balotelli just five minutes into City's 3-3 draw with Sunderland at the Etihad Stadium.
The Italy international went on to score a brace to help City escape a first home Premier League defeat of the season, although United's win at Blackburn on Monday means they now trail their rivals by five points at the summit.
It has been suggested that Mancini is finally losing patience with Balotelli, with speculation even claiming that he could be sold in the summer. But when asked if he was prepared to give up on the former Inter Milan youngster, Mancini said: "No.
"I am frustrated because sometimes I think it is not possible that a player with his class and his technique can play a game like this.
"I think he is young and I hope for him he can improve very quickly for his future. A player like Mario in the Premier League should score one or two goals every game."
Balotelli was also involved in a hot-headed exchange with team-mate Aleksandar Kolarov versus Sunderland as the pair argued over who should take a free-kick.
"This was a bad moment," Mancini said. "I think a professional player can't do what they did in that moment, when we were losing 3-1."
Despite relinquishing their advantage at the top of the table, Mancini is determined to fight until the last game of the season in a bid to deny United a 20th league title.
He said: "We should be strong, I believe always. The message is always the same - we will do everything to win this title."
When asked what he said to the players after Saturday's game, Mancini added: "Nothing because they were so tired. I said only, 'believe in yourselves' because we have seven games - 21 points. I think with 92 points we will win the title."