Giants owner's comments show fire his putrid team has lacked

John Mara is pissed off — as he should be.

With his Giants team grossly underachieving with the NFL’s worst record at 1-5, the angst has been etched onto the face of the Giants owner for weeks as this season has spiraled out of control.

That look of disgust was particularly present as Mara stood quietly in a hallway off the Giants locker room last Thursday night after the Eagles dismantled the Giants at MetLife Stadium.

Five days after that uninspired performance by his team before an embittered home crowd, Mara on Tuesday spoke publicly for the first time since before the season as he arrived to a downtown Manhattan hotel for the NFL’s fall meetings.

Mara’s harshest and most pointed words were directed toward Odell Beckham Jr., to whom the Giants gave a $95 million contract extension this offseason, only to see him use that financial security as license to turn himself — and the team — into an embarrassing sideshow.

“I think he needs to do a little more playing and a little less talking,” Mara said of his diva receiver. “I wish he would create the headlines by his play on the field, as opposed to what he says and does off the field.”

Beckham’s low point was the recent ESPN interview he participated in, during which he was critical of quarterback Eli Manning, head coach Pat Shurmur and playing in New York instead of L.A.’s warmer weather.

Beckham, after being told by Shurmur to address his teammates (which he did before the Philadelphia game), then cluelessly doubled down days later in a Facebook video on which he said he had no reason to apologize to anyone for his comments.

It’s all been enough to turn Mara’s stomach.

The Beckham saga has been an ugly symbol to this lost season for the Giants, who have the same record they had a year ago, before they fired their coach and general manager and spent millions in the offseason to repair their broken team.

“I’m sick about it, particularly the way we’ve disappointed our fans,’’ Mara said. “To start out like this is very disappointing. I don’t think you ever expect to go 1-5 … two years in a row. I’m still embarrassed being 1-5. I can’t stand up here and make any excuses about that. We suffer as much as our fans, maybe more.’’

Credit to Mara for speaking candidly from the heart. Maybe it’ll help snap his team from its sleepwalk beginning Monday night against the Falcons in Atlanta.

Because it hasn’t been close to good enough so far — not for the $95 million contract extension Mara gave to Beckham or the $75 million he spent on the offensive line or the $200 million he spent on Olivier Vernon, Janoris Jenkins and Damon Harrison three years ago to anchor the defense.

Every last one of these players has been grossly underachieving.

No one — except general manager Dave Gettleman and Shurmur — was exempt from the understandable wrath of the discontented Giants owner.

Though Manning has struggled getting the offense into the end zone, throwing only six TDs in six games, Mara resisted placing a lot of the blame on him and insisted, “We still believe in him.’’

“I think when you’re 1-5, it generally means that everybody needs to play better,” Mara said. “So [Manning] is not alone. A lot of guys just need to do their jobs.”

Mara has heard the rants from the angry Giants fans calling out Manning as the root of the team’s struggles and criticizing the team for going “all in’’ on the 37-year-old this season by not drafting a quarterback (Sam Darnold) with the second overall pick last spring.

“I don’t know what you mean by going ‘all in’ on him,’’ Mara said. “He’s been our quarterback. He’s still under contract. I know he’s the punching bag right now, but a lot of guys need to play better. When you’re 1-5, it’s not just him. Everybody needs to do their jobs in order for us to be successful, and right now, that’s not happening.”

Mara also defended the drafting of Saquon Barkley (above) and the plan to stick with Eli Manning at QB.N.Y. Post: Charles Wenzelberg

When asked if he believes the time is approaching to look at rookie quarterback Kyle Lauletta, the fourth-round pick out of Richmond, Mara said, “I’ll leave that up to the coach and the general manager.”

The Giants owner staunchly defended the drafting of running back Saquon Barkley, who’s been the team’s best player with 438 rushing yards and four rushing TDs.

“We went best player in the draft, and I still believe he’s the best player in the draft,” Mara said. “I’m thrilled with what he’s accomplished so far, and I think the sky’s the limit for him.”

Mara also defended his general manager and head coach, saying, “I’m very confident we have the right guys in the building to turn this around.”

“I’m not sure it’s going to be a quick fix, but I’m confident in Dave and in Pat that they’ll get the job done,’’ Mara said. “I think we have more talent on the roster than 1-5. But what does that mean? We’re [still] 1-5.”

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