New Swansea City boss Bob Bradley is pledging to earn the fans' respect

Bob Bradley is pledging to earn the respect of the fans by leading Swansea City up the Premier League table.

Bradley faced the media for the first time today having been installed as the Swans' new manager earlier this week.

And the former USA, Egypt, Stabaek and Le Havre boss is convinced he can thrive in the Premier League.

"Let's be clear about one thing - no matter what your name is, if you come to the Premier League you have to earn respect," Bradley said.

"A name might sound good at the beginning, but you don't get handed anything - you get tested.

"I am excited about the test I am going to face here, but I fully understand that as with everything I have done in my life, you have to earn respect.

"I won't give you my full family history, but my father's father was from Scotland. They were from the docks - Govan - which is a pretty good place to come from if you want to be a manager I think.

"My father was in the marines. He went to Korea, then he met my mother and they had three boys.

"He never talked about the marines. He never talked about Korea.

"The only thing that mattered to him was that us boys understood that we had to work hard and we had to earn respect.

"I learned that lesson from him, and I will try to do that here by showing everybody, every day what we are going to do."

Bradley admits he is still getting to know his new surroundings having met the Swans squad for the first time on Wednesday.

But the 58-year-old has already seen enough to convince him that his new team can succeed this season.

"I am going to learn a lot more, but I already know enough about Swansea City Football Club," he said.

"I had seen Jack to a King before this week! 

"What I know is that when you have a club with soul and great supporters, that's special.

"The unity between the fans is the number one thing you need for a club to have a chance to be successful.

"You have to have a connection with your fans, your city and your community. I have tried to help create that at my previous clubs and I will do the same here."

Bradley reckons his key challenge ahead of his first Swans game - which comes at Arsenal a week on Saturday - is to restore the confidence of a squad who have taken just one Premier League point since the opening day of the season.

"They have had a very difficult list of fixtures at the start of the season and they have also had some bad luck," he added.

"We have to try to build a bit of confidence. Right at the beginning, I said to the players 'You guys know how to play football - I have seen you'.

"I am not going to come in with a new book on football, but we need to find some confidence."

Bradley on whether he will add new faces to his backroom team
"I am trying to get to know so many people in just a couple of days. That has been great - I am impressed with a lot of things that are happening in the club, like the sports science and the attention to detail.
"But I have an interest in one or two coaches, perhaps one I am familiar with and also I think an additional coach who has some Premier League experience.
"Alan Curtis is going to be really important for me. He is going to be my older brother in this thing - even though he is only a little bit older than me!
"His knowledge of the club will be very important for me, but I am working on getting the right balance." 

Bradley on what his appointment will mean to American football
"I am honoured to be at Swansea City. The American side of things, we can deal with in 30 seconds and then we can push that out of the door.
"In football in the US, we have always had to fight to earn respect. If in some way my move to Swansea helps that move a little further down the road, then I am glad.
"But I am not an American manager, I am a football manager. I know there's not one person in Swansea who could care less about what anyone in the US thinks."

Bradley on Sir Alex Ferguson
"During my time as US coach, I had long spells in Europe looking at players and I have a friend who is friendly with Sir Alex, so I had a chance to go to Carrington (Manchester United's training ground).
"I don't want to act like Sir Alex and I are great friends, but every time I went there, he treated me like a great friend.
"I loved the humble, down-to-earth way things were done at Carrington.
"They are a huge club and had the best players around at the time, but Sir Alex had not forgotten where he came from. I admired that."

Bradley on taking over during an international break
"Probably it helps having some extra time before our first game. It gives me a little bit of time to get to know people a bit better, and also for them to figure out what I am about."