The Italian admits his side are often made to suffer from
his compatriot's outbursts but insists they can surpass last season's
third-placed finish despite their poor start.
Stephan El Shaarawy has urged Mario Balotelli to curb his
temper or risk damaging AC Milan's chances this season.
The striker was issued a three-match ban after he angrily
confronted officials following the Rossoneri's 2-1 defeat to Napoli, forcing
him to sit out Tuesday's 3-3 draw with Bologna as well as forthcoming games
against Sampdoria and Juventus.
El Shaarawy has revealed his compatriot apologised to
team-mates immediately after his outburst, but has urged the former Manchester
City man to control his actions better in future or risk derailing Milan's
season.
"He knows it was wrong and he apologised to us after
the game. He made a mistake. It's an aspect of his character he knows he must
improve because it penalises us," El Shaarawy told La Gazzetta dello
Sport.
Milan struck twice in the dying minutes to take a share
of the spoils from their trip to Bologna earlier this week, but already find
themselves 10 points adrift of Serie A leaders Roma having accrued just five
points from five games.
El Shaarawy insists he is not concerned by his side's
inauspicious start to the 2013-14 campaign and maintains their target is to
improve on last season's third-placed finish.
"Last season we reached third place, which was a
great achievement. The goal is to do better than a year ago, that's
obvious," he continued.
"I'll be honest: this false start doesn't scare me.
"I'm satisfied with what I've produced so far. I've
scored, I've set up others. Personally, I can't complain. I feel an integral
part of this project."
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