Vice-captain Kyle McCallan believes Ireland are due more respect for reaching the critical stage of the tournament.
"It's a little bit frustrating because, before the tournament, we were told we weren't good enough to be here," said the 31-year-old off-spinner. "It is frustrating that, now we are here, people are saying the tournament is the wrong format and now Ireland and Bangladesh are in the Super Eights it's going to take away from the tournament.
"That's the nature of sport, unfortunately, and I firmly believe we have earned the right to be here and therefore we have earned that bit of respect."
McCallan is also irritated by the claims of some critics that Ireland rely too heavily on players from abroad.
"We're tired of these comments in the press that Irish cricket is made up of ex-pats who have come in from overseas and we're reliant on them," said McCallan.
"A lot of things have been written that are inaccurate that we're dependent on these guys, and I don't think are based on our performances here. Irish cricket is pretty strong and it would be nice for people to sometimes give us the credit we deserve.
"If you take Trent Johnston and Jeremy Bray out of our side, it will make a difference, but we're not the only side in this tournament who are reliant on boys who are not born and bred in their own country.
"The one thing they have brought is self-belief, because they have been there and played at that level.
"Playing in the C&G (Trophy) last year has given us a greater exposure to high-quality cricket and you can't improve without playing people who are better than you."
McCallan is confident Ireland can cause further upsets over the next three weeks.
"I think we can cause a shock, but I'm not going to go around making predictions about it.
"We've always said that, if we play to our potential, and one of the other teams has a mediocre day, it's game on.
"But we're not naive and we're not going to come here and be all arrogant and say we're going to beat England on Friday because, at this stage, any of these teams are capable of winning the tournament."
