Swansea boss Bob Bradley has accused those who criticise him because he has an American accent of taking "cheap shots."
Bradley has so far failed to turn around Swansea's fortunes since succeeding Francesco Guidolin at the start of October.
Swansea have won only once in Bradley's seven games and are bottom of the Premier League heading into Saturday's critical home fixture with fellow strugglers Sunderland.
But Bradley -- the former United States manager who steered his country into the last 16 of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa -- feels the fact that he is American has been held against him.
"My sense is that there are parts of the press in the UK that like to be clever," Bradley said. "So they look for anything that they think is different, funny, interesting, whatever.
"Somebody said something about 'offence and defence.' I've never spoken like that and I've never used those words in relation to football.
"The idea that somebody throws that out there is just garbage."
Bradley tasted success in Major League Soccer at home before enjoying five successful years in charge of the national team between 2006 and 2011.
Since then the 58-year-old came within one game of taking Egypt to the 2014 World Cup, and has also managed in Norway and France.
"I have confidence from the work I've done and from the results I've had," Bradley said about succeeding in the Premier League. "I've coached far bigger players than some of the pundits who now like to talk.
"I've had my chance to prove myself on the job. So I'm not going to listen when people on the outside, who are paid to talk, take cheap shots.
"Sometimes I'm going to say 'field' instead of 'pitch' and I could try to sound like I'm from the UK.
"But it would come off very poorly, and that's not who I am."