Chelsea fullback Ben Chilwell has urged fans to stay patient with their new-look team.

Chilwell acknowledges improvements are needed but also cautions that the team must be given time to gel.

"Of course it's been a difficult period for all of us," the defender told Chelsea's website.

"Although we went on that run of 17 unbeaten games, when you look at the squad with a lot of new players and a lack of pre-season, it was never going to be a completely smooth season.

"It's a process and it was always going to be difficult to win things straight away. We want to do that as soon as possible but it was never going to be a smooth journey."