Harry Maguire says Manchester United's players must take responsibility for their own poor performances rather than putting the blame on much-criticised manager Erik ten Hag.

Ten Hag has endured a disappointing start to the season with just three wins in nine games and his job is under threat ahead of Sunday's trip to Aston Villa. Club chairman Ratcliffe said ten Hag's future at Manchester United was "not my decision to make". Despite winning the FA Cup in his first year in charge, the supporters appear to have run out of patience with the Dutchman.

The pressure on ten Hag increased on Thursday when Manchester United squandered a two-goal lead in a 3-3 draw with Porto in the Europa League. So far, the players ten Hag has brought in to build his squad have failed to live up to their billing. The injured Yoro, the scoreless Zirkzee, the Hojlund, the error-prone De Ligt, the laughing stock Anthony... and Maguire insists the focus should be on the players, not the manager.

"As a football player, it's easy to look around and blame other people, blame your team-mates, blame the staff or the tactics," Maguire said. "You have to look at yourself. We're the ones on the pitch. We're the ones who have to defend. You have to take responsibility."

Sources have told ESPN that Ten Hag could be sacked if his side lose at Villa Park on Sunday. United won 2-1 at Villa Park in February last season, completing a double at the ground, and Maguire believes a similar result on Sunday will finally kickstart their season. But Villa have been in fine form this season, finishing fifth in the Premier League, winning the Champions League for the second successive season and beating Bundesliga champions Manchester United.

Looking back on Ten Hag's time as Manchester United manager, Harry Maguire lost his place in the Manchester United team under Eric Ten Hag. He was even stripped of the captaincy, with Bruno Fernandes taking over. But to be honest, Maguire's performances have improved since he lost the captaincy. On the one hand, the psychological pressure may have been reduced. On the other hand, Maguire's experience compared to some of his new defensive colleagues is still very helpful, both for himself and for the team as a whole.

"We have to find our own beliefs," he said. "Draw beliefs from our performance at Villa Park last season. We performed very well there last season. Then we got the victory there that we needed last season. We feel that we played better than last season.

"The result is not ideal. I feel that we should have more points in the standings. But that is not the case, so we need to do something starting from Sunday. ”

Maguire had a mixed week, coming off the bench to score an injury-time equaliser against Porto despite being told earlier in the day that he had been left out of the latest England squad.

The 31-year-old admitted he was "surprised" by caretaker manager Lee Carsley's decision, but revealed he has been assured he still has a future with the national team.

"He [Carsley] told me I was a big part of the future," said Maguire. "He just wanted to see the other lads playing in this camp. If I didn't start any of the games [against Greece and Finland] he wouldn't have taken me, which was fair enough.

"Of course I'm disappointed. I want to play every game for England. But I know how he thinks and I have to make sure I do well on the pitch so that he has no choice but to leave me out.

"I must say I was a little surprised. But obviously I support his decision and he told me I'm part of the future."