Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola said he admires managers of lower-ranked teams who are not afraid of sticking to their style of football despite poor results.

Guardiola, whose side are top of the Premier League with 71 points after 30 games, said a new generation of managers including Fulham boss Scott Parker are taking a courageous step in playing attacking football.

Fulham were 10 points adrift of 17th place in mid-February but three wins and two draws in their last six games have seen their hopes of survival soar with Parker’s side now below 17th-placed Brighton and Hove Albion only on goal difference.

“Since day one, Fulham have played incredibly well,” Guardiola said before Saturday’s Premier League trip to Craven Cottage.

“In English football, there are incredibly good managers… Many of them have the courage to play. What I admire is that when it is not going well they continue to do it and at the end the results come.

“I have the feeling that all the new generation of managers have this quality. All the managers in Germany and Spain, play like they manage Bayern Munich.

“I think all the new generation of managers are saying ‘we’ll do our game rather than wait to see what the opponents do’.”