Former Man United defender Gary Neville has criticised Manchester United’s performance in their 1-1 draw with Fulham, describing a poor spell after half-time as the worst he had seen from the club.

United fell behind when Lisandro Martinez turned the ball into his own net just over an hour into the game, after a largely laboured display.

Neville, who spent his entire professional career at United, was scathing in his assessment.

As reported by BBC Sport on Monday Neville was quoted as saying, “I’ve watched Manchester United since the age of five and that’s the worst 15 minutes I’ve ever seen.

“Absolutely pathetic. I’ve never seen such a lack of effort. What must [Michael] Carrick be thinking?”

United eventually rescued a point when Matheus Cunha’s deflected effort found the net in the 89th minute.

Cunha also suggested Fulham had shown greater energy at the beginning of the second half.

“At the beginning of the second half they put in more energy than us,” he told Sky Sports. “We cannot accept this.”

However, Carrick rejected suggestions that fitness was a problem for his team, pointing instead to their strong finish.

“The way we finished the game, actually, it didn’t look like that,” Carrick said. “We finished the game really strong actually, and kept pushing. I don’t think that’s an issue, no.”

The draw came after a difficult week for United, who had already lost the Manchester derby before surrendering a two-goal lead against Brighton.

United now have five points from their opening five league games, leaving them 12th in the table.

Cunha later referred to the “noise” surrounding the club, while Carrick urged his players and supporters to remain focused.

“It’s still a big season ahead. It’s a long season and you’re going to have spells through a season. That’s part of the journey.”

He added: “I’m not playing it down, you know. We wanted more points, so I’m not saying everything’s great. I understand the frustration.”

Carrick also praised the United supporters despite the growing frustration.

“The supporters were unbelievable today, I have to say, all the way through, and stuck with the boys and supported them,” he said.

“At least we’ve given them something small at the end to take from it, and I’m sure there’s more to come.”