Valentin Eysseric has repeated claims that Mario Balotelli has allowed his head to drop at Nice, and stated the striker needs to make more of an effort to force his way back into the team.

Balotelli was left on the bench in favour of Eysseric before coming on for just the final eight minutes of last week's 1-0 win over St Etienne, and was not even in the matchday squad for Sunday's 2-2 draw at Rennes.

Last Friday, Eysseric had claimed Balotelli needed to "think more about the team and work more for us," and that the summer arrival from Liverpool sulked when everything did not go his way, adding: "It's a shame he's like that and that his head drops."

Speaking after the game at Rennes, in which Eysseric scored the equalising goal nine minutes from time to keep his team in touch in the Ligue 1 title race in third place, five points behind leaders Monaco, the midfielder backed up his initial statement on beIN SPORTS.

"My words were sincere, I told the truth," said Eysseric, who has scored twice in 18 league appearances compared to Balotelli's nine goals in 13 Ligue 1 outings this term. "It's sometimes a shame he's like that, that his head goes down. We see him in training every day, we know he's a great player.

"I think he shouldn't have anything to do with us, even if I have respect for all my teammates. He's really head and shoulders above the rest. It's a shame.

"He could have helped us in games like that where we know he can make the difference. The coach asks for a lot of effort from his squad, and doesn't accept any slackening off. We've seen that with Mario."