LIVERPOOL -- Mario Balotelli has to improve his goal record to help kick-start Liverpool's season, according to manager Brendan Rodgers.
Balotelli has scored once in seven appearances for the Reds since making a 16 million pound-move from AC Milan in August.
The Italy international did not manage a single touch inside the opposition penalty area as Rodgers' side lost 1-0 to Basel in a Champions League Group B match on Wednesday.
Rodgers insists that he is happy with Balotelli's attitude, even though the striker refused his manager's orders to applaud the visiting fans after the defeat against the Swiss champions.
But the Liverpool boss does believe that the 24-year-old has to do more -- and that his players also have to rediscover the team ethic that lifted them to second place in the Premier League last season.
"In terms of his behaviour since he's come in here, he's consciously trying to work hard at the aspects of the game that we would demand here at Liverpool, in terms of his intensity and his workrate," Rodgers told a news conference.
"In terms of goals, he needs to improve. It's as simple as that. As a striker, any striker, you're judged on your goals and your game, and the number of assists you provide.
"At this moment, he probably hasn't hit the numbers he would want to. And that's something over the course of the team, really.
"We need to return to being a team. That's what has brought us success over the last 18 months or so.
"We've been selfless in our work for each other. I think at the minute, which is natural when confidence is a little bit low in the team, it can become more about the individual.
"That isn't what we're about. We're about the whole function of the team. And when we work to that principle, that's when we're at our best."
Rodgers has indicated that he will stick with a 4-2-3-1 formation when Liverpool host West Brom in the Premier League on Saturday.
The Reds boss has used a midfield diamond this season, notably in a 3-0 victory at Tottenham on Aug. 31.
But the diamond setup has been much less effective without midfielder Joe Allen, who has been out of action since suffering a knee injury while playing for Wales in a 2-1 Euro 2016 qualifying win in Andorra on Sept. 9.
Allen is likely to be fit to return when Liverpool visit QPR in the Premier League on Oct. 19, but his influence has been missed, according to Rodgers.
"Joe's a player who very rarely gets mentioned," Rodgers added. "He's a player who very rarely turns over the ball. He always loves the football, he gets other people playing.
"The key feature with Joe on top of that is the intensity of his pressure. He presses the game really well. He's an intelligent footballer, tactically he's outstanding in the game, and we've really missed his energy and his quality since he's been out.
"He'll be back after the international break. It's too soon for him this weekend, but I hope he'll be back for the QPR game."