GERARD Houllier has launched a scathing attack on Steve Bruce and Ian Holloway and suggested he is persecuted by rival managers because he is foreign.

Houllier came out fighting ahead of today’s Premier League clash against Manchester City after the Sunderland and Blackpool bosses both took pops at him.

Bruce insinuated that Houllier acted inappropriately in the record-breaking £18 million-plus deal to bring striker Darren Bent to Villa Park on Tuesday.

And Holloway has made a series of disparaging remarks about Houllier and Villa in their unsuccessful pursuit of Seasiders want-away captain Charlie Adam.

But Houllier is unrepentant about his methods and the French manager feels he is the victim of xenophobia from some of his Premier League peers.

“I’m a foreign manager, I’m an easy target,” said Houllier. “I’m French. With another manager I’m sure it would be different.”

Bruce accused Houllier of lacking respect by failing to phone him about Bent – but the Villa boss insists he acted correctly by allowing negotiations to take place at boardroom level.

Houllier also suggested Sunderland should have reported Villa to the authorities or refused to do business with them if they had any proof whatsoever of underhand methods.

“If I go and tell Steve ‘I want to buy your player’, he’ll go out and be as vocal as he is: ‘This is scandalous, a manager is trying to......’ So we did the things right, they had the facility to say ‘No’.

“If I want to buy your house and you don’t want to sell, you just say ‘No’, whatever the price.

“But if you don’t say ‘No’ and you accept the bid, what can you do? What has Gerard Houllier got to do with that?

“I thought: ‘Hang on a second, why is he having a go at me?’

“Is he trying to protect himself from his fans? All he has got to do is say ‘This is football now’.

“I’m not culpable in any way. If he feels that, well, I feel sorry for that.”