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When you cannot win, avoid defeat - so the old saying goes.

Prior to their trip to Forest, Man Utd had earned just eight points from losing positions with their manager. They had failed to secure a single point from the past six games when they trailed since the match to AFC Bournemouth last April, when a last-minute effort secured a draw.

When they were behind at the City Ground after conceding twice in a couple of minutes, as Forest reversed a controversial opening period goal, Manchester United were staring down the barrel.

The question to Amorim after his side recovered to draw could not have been any clearer.

Had that match happened the previous campaign, do you believe it would have ended in defeat?'

The response was equally emphatic.

"Absolutely, and by more goals, I believe so."

It's impossible to determine the actual outcome. What we do know that Amad Diallo showed why the coach picks him at wing-back by scoring a brilliant volleyed strike from near the edge of the penalty area late in the game to earn a point.

It has been obvious since the beginning of the campaign that United are playing better this term. Since the beginning of October, they have also been achieving more positive outcomes.

The determination, the will, the refusal to give in are unquantifiables.

In this game, the manager believed his players demonstrated they have improved at that as well.

"Previously, if we had this kind of bad five minutes and we suffered a couple of goals, we wouldn't bounce back," stated the coach. "Today is a different feeling. You can sense we might not win this game but we are determined not to be defeated. And this represents a feeling a big team occasionally must possess."

Amorim didn't say it, but the addition of the Brazilian forward and the winger probably made a difference.

Cunha is not one to shy away from challenging circumstances, actually the opposite indeed. In the opening period, when he was booed by the local supporters for what they believed was his gamesmanship, he responded - rather than ignore it - pointing to the crest on his shorts.

The forward is a constant threat, the perfect example of a player who will not give an rival any rest.

The coach was questioned precisely what had caused the mental improvement. Apart from saying the self-belief generated from the previous three successive wins, he didn't provide an answer.

"The confidence, naturally, is totally changed," he said. "Following three good games and we have a newfound assurance. We understand one another better. We communicate more about this.

"We proved this year we can have difficult periods but suddenly, we produce three good games.

"We just need to be inside the game until the final 10 minutes. In the past, we could have collapsed completely based on how we performed in the encounter. Now, the feeling was not that one."

Uncertainty Remains Regarding Futures of the striker and Mainoo

If this was a day when the team showed their fighting spirit, it was also a day that must have left Joshua Zirkzee and the young midfielder even more uncertain of their roles in the manager's revamped Manchester United.

In his before the game press conference, the coach stated it was likely members of the squad who believe they are at danger of missing the World Cup will request transfers in the January transfer window.

One can reasonably conclude Zirkzee and the midfielder fall into that category. The forward has accumulated less than two full games from his 4 top-flight substitute appearances in the current campaign. For Mainoo, the number is 138 from 7.

Neither has begun a league game this season and neither were they asked to be substituted on at the stadium, as United chased a route to recovery into a game they were losing from the second half.

"We have a great deal of quality on the bench but sometimes I have the feeling if I'm going to stop the game all the time, I'm going to interrupt something," explained the manager. "Our performance was getting better during the later stages, so my feeling was not to change anything with the guys in attack."

Mainoo had a agreement in place to move to the Italian club in the final stages of the summer window but the club would not approve a deal. Zirkzee was returning from a fitness issue but is currently considering the possibility of a return to Serie A.

The situation is made more complex by the loss of Mbeumo and Amad to the Africa Cup of Nations in the midst of the winter, a period which includes a couple of weekday matches which will demand a degree of rotation unseen before.

Since the championship match is on 18 January, the pair should be back well before the signing period closes on 2 February - which could result in a later outcome than what wantaway player would prefer.

"It is the characteristics of the sport," said Amorim, when asked directly about the forward and Mainoo. "They know it's only a phase.

"It's nothing to do with ability - and we have a many games."