Microphones have caught a frustrated British and Irish Lions head coach Warren Gatland swearing, illustrating the pressure he is under less than a week into their big tour of New Zealand.

Gatland had bristled at a press conference on Monday about the playing style of his sides and when it wrapped up, he was picked up by microphones saying to a colleague: "F..., I don't know why I have to f......keep defending myself".

The last few words of his comment are inaudible.

BILLY STICKLAND/INPHO/PHOTOSPORT Lions coach Warren Gatland bristled at a touring journalist's questions.

He had been asked by a touring journalist about the style the Lions would adopt in their second tour match against the Blues at Eden Park on Wednesday, with the suggestion being his sides are typified by one way of playing - physicality and directness.

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"When did that way start?" Gatland asked the journalist. "I look at it and say was it when we were successful at Wasps? Was it when I was coaching Waikato? When did a certain style change?

DAVID ROGERS/GETTY IMAGES Warren Gatland and backs coach Rob Howley discuss matters at a training session at QBE Stadium on Tuesday.

"A few years ago Brian Smith coined a phrase 'Warrenball'. Whether that was because he was jealous of how much success we had I don't know. We had a group of players at Wales at the time who ended up being big physical players.

"The modern game of rugby is about getting over the gain-line trying to get front-foot ball and playing to space if that's possible.

"In a way there's an opportunity for people to want to critical. We experienced that four years ago [in Australia] when people decided to be critical and a lot of people got caught with their pants down afterwards."

He promised the Lions would embrace attacking endeavour.

The Lions, only a few days after their flight from London, looked flat in beating the Provincial Barbarians 13-7 in Whangarei on Saturday.