Yaya: Balo has a lot of rage - but he will shine

MR ANGRY ... Mario Balotelli

YAYA TOURE admits his out-of-sorts team-mate Mario Balotelli is Manchester City’s ‘Mr Angry’.

The Italian bad boy blew a golden chance to ignite his season when he flopped in the derby defeat to rivals United on Sunday.

And midfield enforcer Toure claims Super Mario is getting frustrated with himself for failing to prove what an ‘unbelievable’ player he is.

Boss Roberto Mancini said this week he has no plans to give up on the former Inter Milan striker and will not sell him in January.

Toure still feels Balotelli has the potential to be one of the top strikers in the Premier League — and tells him so on a regular basis.

The Ivory Coast star said: “Mario is an unbelievable player but sometimes he can be angry with himself.

“This year especially he has been working hard in training and he is improving well. But sometimes in the game you can get so disappointed when you lose small things.”

Yet Toure says Balotelli can come through his current problems and show fans in England what he is really all about.

Toure added: “All players need to improve and I talk all the time with Mario.

“But he has fantastic character and I know he will be one of the top strikers in the Premier League.”

At least Balotelli is not alone in having a tough time — as Mancini has been critical of all of his frontmen during their stuttering season.

But Toure insists their quality is not in doubt and is sure it will not be long before the goals start going in.

He said: “We have fantastic strikers — Carlos Tevez, Sergio Aguero, Edin Dzeko. They have fantastic stamina — also David Silva, Samir Nasri and Scott Sinclair.

“In football you need to get lucky and they have not been lucky lately. But we still have a lot of
games to go and have to stay as close to United as possible.”

The likes of Balotelli, Toure, Tevez and Aguero have become huge names in England and Toure reckons teams have become more fired up to play against them.

He feels that is part of the reason why City have so far been unconvincing in defending their
Premier League title and failed to make an impression in Europe.

Toure said: “Everyone has their opinion but in football you play against clever guys.

“When you play against players like Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, these guys don’t come to be friendly, they come to beat us.

“You have to improve week in, week out and it’s not easy. But we are professional and
understand that. If we win the title again, everyone will say we are one of the best teams in the world. Football is not a game for children — it is for big guys.”

City have been linked with a January swoop for Dutch playmaker Wesley Sneijder, who is out of favour at Inter Milan.

Boss Mancini said: “Sneijder is a great player but we have players like Nasri and Silva that have similar characteristics. Despite his great quality, Sneijder is not a player that we need.”