Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino feels talented Erik Lamela has improved by leaps and bounds over the last two years.

The Argentine winger was on fire on Thursday night as he scored a first-half hat-trick in the 4-1 Europa League win over Monaco at White Hart Lane, prompting words of praise from his boss.

"It is true that today he is more confident and looks a different player from two years ago," Pochettino said after the game.

"There are always a lot of reasons for the improvement of a player. First of all, a young player like Lamela has arrived at a new country. He is a very special boy but he needed time to adapt and not only on the pitch.

"When you score a hat-trick you don't have to say anything more because it was great for him and great for the team. It helped the team to finish at the top.

"Lamela has not surprised me, he is a great talent and okay, you always need a little bit of luck to score but he scored three goals and its normal that he deserves all the praise and the headlines. That is football.

"Always the younger players need time. They need time to improve, they need time to adapt their game to a new culture and a new country and sometimes it is a difficult process. Some players are quick, some it takes time."