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If you can't win, don't lose - so the old saying goes.

Prior to their journey to Forest, Manchester United had earned merely 8 points from losing positions with their manager. They had not got a single point from the past six games when they found themselves behind since the trip to AFC Bournemouth last April, when a last-minute effort secured a draw.

When they found themselves trailing at the City Ground after letting in twice in a couple of minutes, as Nottingham Forest reversed a controversial first-half opener, United were facing defeat.

The inquiry to the manager after his side recovered to draw could not have been any clearer.

'If that game happened the previous campaign, do you feel it would have ended in defeat?'

The answer was equally emphatic.

"Absolutely, and by more goals, that is my feeling."

We can never know the actual outcome. What we do know that the young player showed why the coach selects him at wing-back by scoring a sensational first-time volley from just outside the box nine minutes from time to earn a draw.

It's been clear since the start of the campaign that Manchester United are playing better this season. Since the start of autumn, they have also been achieving more positive outcomes.

The determination, the desire, the unwillingness to surrender are intangibles.

In this match, the manager believed his players showed they have got better at that too.

"Previously, if we had this kind of bad five minutes and we suffered two goals, we don't recover," said Amorim. "Today is a different sensation. It's evident we might not triumph in this game but we are not going to lose. And that is a feeling a big team occasionally has to have."

The manager didn't say it, but the arrival of the Brazilian forward and the winger probably made a difference.

Cunha is not one to shy away from difficult situations, quite the reverse indeed. In the first half, when he was jeered by the home fans for what they believed was his tactical play, he reacted - instead of ignoring them - gesturing toward the crest on his shorts.

The forward is a energetic nuisance, the perfect example of a footballer who will not give an opponent a moment's peace.

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

"Our self-belief, naturally, is totally different," he stated. "We came from three good games and we have a different confidence. The players comprehend each other better. We communicate increased about these aspects.

"We demonstrated this year we can have bad moments but suddenly, we produce three good games.

"It's essential to remain inside the game until the last moments. Previously, we could have collapsed completely based on how we played the encounter. Today, the feeling was different."

Doubt Remains Regarding Futures of the striker and Mainoo

If this was a day when United showed their resilience, it was also a moment that likely created the Dutch forward and the young midfielder even more uncertain of their futures in Amorim's new-look squad.

In his before the game media briefing, Amorim stated it was likely members of the squad who think they are at danger of missing the World Cup will ask to leave in the January transfer window.

One can reasonably conclude the striker and the midfielder fit into that bracket. The forward has accumulated less than two full games from his 4 Premier League cameo roles in the current campaign. For Mainoo, the total is over two hours from seven.

Not one has started a Premier League game this season and neither were they asked to be substituted on at the City Ground, as the team chased a way back into a game they were losing from the second half.

"Our squad includes a lot of quality on the substitutes but sometimes I have the feeling if I'm going to disrupt the game all the time, I'm going to interrupt the rhythm," explained the manager. "We were improving during the later stages, so my instinct was not to change the setup with the players in front."

The midfielder had a agreement in place to join the Italian club in the last days of the summer window but United would not approve a deal. Zirkzee was coming back from injury but is now open to the idea of a return to Serie A.

The circumstances is made more complex by the absence of the winger and Amad to the Africa Cup of Nations in the middle of the winter, a period which includes a few weekday matches which will demand a level of rotation unseen before.

Since the final is on January 18th, the pair are expected to be returned long before the transfer window closes on 2 February - which may mean a later resolution than what eager to leave player would prefer.

"This is about the characteristics of the game," said the coach, when questioned specifically about Zirkzee and Mainoo. "They know it's only a phase.

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