Nottingham Forest manager Steve Cooper "deserves the time to settle", according to his Aston Villa counterpart Steven Gerrard.
Forest are bottom of the Premier League table with just one win so far after returning to the top flight for the first time in 23 years.
"I wouldn't want to be in that position," said Gerrard.
"To bring in 21 players in one window is unique. I have never seen it or heard of it before."
The two teams play each other on Monday 10 October.
Gerrard said he understood Cooper's position and the difficulties facing him regarding the amount of loan players he had.