Jamie Carragher has accused the owners of Manchester United of taking the “easy way out” after they elected not to move on from Erik ten Hag during the summer.

Ten Hag spent much of last season under pressure after mixed performances and results from his side, and Manchester United explored alternative managerial options before electing to keep the Dutchman in charge.

The club’s FA Cup win strengthened the manager’s case to remain in his role but there have been few signs of improvement in the opening weeks of the new season.

Manchester United languish in 13th in the Premier League with two wins from their first six games, and have drawn their first two fixtures in the Europa League.

Former Liverpool defender Carragher believes that Jim Ratcliffe and the rest of the club’s hierarchy were wrong to keep Ten Hag in place, particularly after assessing other options.

“If Manchester United fail to massively improve this season, the ultimate responsibility lies with Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Ineos,” Carragher wrote in his column for The Telegraph. “The latest mess is on their watch, with United already struggling to convince they are equipped to qualify for next year’s Champions League.

“There is no point sugar-coating it. The new United hierarchy have made a deeply unimpressive start to their Old Trafford reign with one of their worst decisions being the most important any board can make. Above all, you must ensure you have the right manager. Retaining Ten Hag is proving the catalyst for another wasted campaign and possibly another £200m down the drain.

“At first, the noises around the head coach sounded like an astute way of securing a replacement in time for the next pre-season. By the time they decided to keep Ten Hag, it was revealed to be a fudge. Ineos froze after Ten Hag won the FA Cup and took the easy way out by giving him another chance.

“It is obvious there were serious doubts about Ten Hag’s ability to lead the rebuild. Those concerns were justified so whenever a board starts looking elsewhere, it is the beginning of the end of their relationship. It is not even that the trust has gone – it was never really there to begin with.”

Ten Hag’s side required a stoppage-time header from Harry Maguire to escape Porto with a point after squandering a two-goal advantage.

Captain Bruno Fernandes was sent off for the second time in consecutive games, though will be available for the Premier League trip to Aston Villa after his red card against Tottenham was rescinded on appeal.