Nottingham Forest boss Sean Dyche said his comments about winning more matches than Ruben Amorim as Manchester United manager were used as "clickbait."
The two managers will meet for the first time Saturday when United head to the City Ground aiming for a fourth straight victory, while Forest look for a first since the opening day.
Comments made by Dyche in May have come to the surface in the buildup to the game after he previously said that he would have won more matches if he was in charge of the Red Devils by just playing a 4-4-2 formation.
Earlier, Amorim laughed off the words of Dyche, who in turn said the full story did not make the headlines.
"I didn't question him as a person. I'd never do that with managers. I'd get on with most of them away from football," Dyche said Thursday ahead of the match. "It's unfortunate nowadays for us, whether you're a pundit or a manager, clickbait kills everything, it changed the whole story.
"I equally said, I want managers to be given time, I don't like seeing managers coming out of situations, because I've had it. I equally said what would be a fair time? I actually said half a season to continue the work he was doing. But unfortunately, that doesn't make the story."
Asked about Dyche's comments at a news conference Thursday, Amorim said: "Maybe it's true if we play 4-4-2 we would win more games.
"But I always said that I have a way of playing that is going to take a while, but in the future it's going to be better. So we don't know that.
"Then I can look at Sean Dyche as a manager and then as a pundit.
"If you are a pundit and you don't say very strong things, I don't want to watch you! I'm the same. So I can understand that it's a completely different job. I know that Sean Dyche is really smart and he knows how to play the game.
"And he also understands that one thing is when we are seeing the game and talking about the game, the other thing is to coach a team."
Dyche also praised Amorim for showing flexibility in his management style.
He added: "They've changed their style, so fair play to him, the management side of things, his coaching staff, the players, they have changed their style, not necessarily his beliefs, but just their style.
"There's a time to stick with everything you believe in. There's a time to be flexible, and so far, he showed a bit of flexibility in what he was talking about, and yet they're getting results. So fair play to him."
Amorim's United come into the game in sixth place in the Premier League, while Forest are in the relegation zone with five points from nine games.
Dyche was hired on Oct. 21 and is Forest's third manager so far this season after the club parted ways with both Nuno Espírito Santo and Ange Postecoglou.
Information from PA was used in this story.