Bob Bradley has claimed that Swansea City’s owners “lost their nerve” and “didn’t have the strength” to stick with him”, following their sacking of the 58-year-old after just 85 days in charge of the Welsh club.

Bradley was dismissed on Tuesday after overseeing seven defeats in 11 matches having replaced Francesco Guidolin at the Liberty Stadium in October, a run that has left Swansea 19th in the Premier Leaguer with just 12 points from 18 games. During Bradley’s time in charge, Swansea conceded 29 goals, with the four they let in at home to West Ham United on Boxing Day in a 4-1 defeat proving the end for the first American to manage in England’s top-flight. During the match, Swansea supporters could be heard calling for Bradley to be sacked.

The former United States manager’s initial reaction to the decision was one of calm but a clear frustration at the lack of patience he was afforded by Swansea’s American co-owners Jason Levien and Steve Kaplan emerged in an interview with ESPN FC.

“They lost their nerve. They reacted to the fans and didn’t have the strength to see it through,” said Bradley. “That part I’m not happy about. I spoke very quickly to Jason Levien [after losing to West Ham], I received a message from Steve Kaplan and both referenced something about ‘unfair’. But you always tell your players that the game will challenge you in all sorts of ways. The game can be cruel. In order to have any chance you have to be strong. You have to believe in your work, you have to believe in how you do things as a group. It can’t be thrown off track every time something goes against you.”

Bradley expected to be given the chance to rebuild the side using the January transfer window but says such commitments were quickly abandoned by Levien and Kaplan. “What I think happened is that [result against West Ham] made everybody nervous,” he said. “That loss and that feeling inside the Liberty that day meant all the discussions and all the plans got thrown out of the window, and somebody needed to go. And let’s face it, the way that works is the first one that’s out is the manager.

“I’m disappointed that somehow, when a few games go against you, that all of a sudden all of those discussions and all of the ideas of what it was going to take to turn this around got pushed aside.”

Swansea’s hierarchy has now turned its attention to appointing Bradley’s successor, with the Bayern Munich assistant manager Paul Clement and the former Birmingham City manager Gary Rowett believed to be the main contenders after first choice Chris Coleman was ruled out of the running via a tweet sent by his wife, the television presenter Charlotte Jackson, on Thursday.

The first-team caretaker coach, Alan Curtis, will take charge of the team for Saturday’s visit of Bournemouth, whose own manager, Eddie Howe, has called on his players to respond positively to losing 3-0 at Chelsea on Boxing Day.

“The Chelsea game ruined my Christmas,” he said. “As always, what’s going on with our results dictates my mood and how you enjoy your social time. It was a difficult Christmas period.

“We know this is a key period for us. We’ve been a bit inconsistent of late and that is something we’ve talked about internally. We’ve turned in some good performances, but we need to do that on a more regular basis. With the new year, that is something we’re keen to address.”