Aston Villa need to 'give Steven Gerrard time' despite the Villans' undesirable opening to the new season, talkSPORT has been told.
Sunday's 1-0 loss against West Ham marked Villa's third defeat in four games, leading some to question if Gerrard is cut out for the job.
It's not been an ideal start to the season for Gerrard
After joining Villa last November, Gerrard now faces the task of rebuilding his side and turning around his record of three wins in the last 15 league games.
The Liverpool legend is also adjusting to life without his longstanding assistant manager Michael Beale, who left for Queens Park Rangers this summer, as well as missing star centre-back Diego Carlos to injury.
And things could get even worse with games against Arsenal and Man City up next.
But, whilst Ally McCoist and Dean Saunders sympathise with Villa fans' concerns, they believe Gerrard will get the best out of their squad in his first full season at Villa Park.
"I get it, I totally understand it, on the flip side of the coin, if they win that game yesterday they could be seventh, that game could've gone either way," McCoist said on Monday's talkSPORT Breakfast.
"I understand the frustration of a lot of Villa fans I get it, but if you're asking for a knee-jerk reaction, absolutely not. Let's calm down.
McCoist believes putting pressure on Gerrard this early on is harsh
"Another four, five, six games to go you've got to see how things go. I'm looking at the team, I like the look of the team, there's some great players in there.
"[Philippe] Coutinho, I like [Ollie] Watkins, Danny Ings up front, [John] McGinn he's a good player. Maybe they're just not firing yet."
Gerrard guided Villa to a 14th place finish last season, with them eventually finishing 10 points above the relegation zone.
And McCoist thinks whilst the Villans should be aiming for a higher finish, he thinks the club won't be going too far above that position this season.
The Rangers legend continued: "I think they'll be alright I really, really do, but when I say they'll be alright, I think they'll be looking at mid-table, or above mid-table, I don't see them as top six.
Villa have got to get things right soon
"They might get a top eight, but that's where Villa are."
Later, ex-Aston Villa forward Dean Saunders joined the show, and he also stated the need to be patient with Gerrard to give him time to turn things around, emphasising Villa's inferior budget to the clubs above them.
"My first thought is, four games in? I know his record from last season is being brought into it, but it shouldn't, he's trying to sort the club out that's why he got brought in in the first place," he said.
"They're not exactly shopping in Marks and Spencer's are they? The players they're buying, they're not doing the same as what Arsenal are doing and buying [Gabriel] Jesus for £50m."
Villa beat Everton 2-1 in their second league game this season
The ex-Liverpool and Villa player continued: "It's four games in and he's being hounded out. He's a younger manager, they've had a bad start.
"I think we should give him a bit of time."
As well as suggesting Villa need to be patient with Gerrard, Saunders then went on to question who else the club could bring in that would do a better job.
"I wouldn't panic yet, I think Steven Gerrard is destined for great things, and if you get rid of him, who you going to get in that's better than him at the moment?" he said.
"He's not spending like the top six are spending. Two wins, and Aston Villa will be where they should be."
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