Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino has urged fans to give Cole Palmer the room to develop.

Palmer struck a hat-trick in Thursday's win against Manchester United.

Pochettino said: "It is not easy to talk, it is difficult to explain. Sometimes expectation plays a role in a player when they are young. I think when we signed him, no-one expected him to perform like this.

"For sure, we have talented players and they need time. We have a young team that needs to grow.

"This process is painful when you are not in a position the club is used to. The club want to build this new project. We know what we are doing but the process is not so fast."

On his relationship with fans, he said: "It's normal, I came from a different club and I need to convince. I play with my reputation to come here with a young team to build. For us, we knew there was a massive challenge to build a team, win games and take a risk with the fans.

"I said from the beginning I won't be kissing the badge to win over the fans. I want the team to win games and believe in ourselves and build a very good relationship. I'm not here to be a hypocrite and say I love the fans because I know it will take time to build a relationship."