🔗 Share this article

When you cannot triumph, don't lose - so the old saying goes.

Prior to their trip to Nottingham Forest, Man Utd had earned merely eight points from losing positions with their manager. They had not got any from the previous six matches when they found themselves behind since the match to Bournemouth last spring, when a last-minute goal secured a draw.

When they went down at the City Ground after conceding twice in a couple of minutes, as Nottingham Forest overturned a disputed opening period opener, United were in serious trouble.

The question to the manager after his side fought back to tie could not have been more direct.

'If that game occurred last season, do you believe you would have lost it?'

The response was equally emphatic.

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

It's impossible to determine the reality. However, we do know that the young player showed why the coach selects him at wing-back by flashing home a sensational volleyed strike from near the edge of the box late in the game to secure a draw.

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

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

In this match, Amorim believed his players demonstrated they have got better at that too.

"In the past, if we had such a bad five minutes and we conceded two goals, we don't recover," said the coach. "Now 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 mindset a big team occasionally has to have."

Amorim didn't say it, but the arrival of the Brazilian forward and the winger must have helped.

Cunha is not the type to retreat from difficult situations, quite the reverse indeed. In the opening period, when he was jeered by the home fans for what they felt was his tactical play, he responded - instead of ignoring them - gesturing toward the badge on his shorts.

Mbeumo is a hustle-bustle menace, the epitome of a player who will never allow an rival a moment's peace.

The coach was questioned precisely what had caused the psychological growth. Apart from saying the self-belief generated from the prior three consecutive victories, he didn't really give an answer.

"Our self-belief, of course, is completely changed," he stated. "Following three positive performances and we have a newfound confidence. The players comprehend each other better. We talk increased about this.

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

"We just need to be inside the game until the last moments. In the past, we could have lost everything based on how we played the encounter. Today, the feeling was different."

Uncertainty Remains Over Futures of Zirkzee and the midfielder

If this was a day when the team displayed their fighting spirit, it was additionally a day that likely created the Dutch forward and Kobbie Mainoo even more unsure of their roles in Amorim's new-look Manchester United.

In his before the game media briefing, the coach stated it was possible players who think they are at risk of not making the World Cup will request transfers in the winter transfer window.

One can reasonably conclude Zirkzee and Mainoo fit into that bracket. Zirkzee has accumulated less than two full games from his 4 Premier League substitute appearances in the current campaign. For the young player, the number is 138 from 7.

Not one has begun a league match this season and neither were they asked to come off the bench at the stadium, as the team sought a way back into a game they were losing from the second half.

"We have a great deal of quality on the bench but at times I have the impression if I'm going to disrupt the game all the time, I'm going to interrupt something," explained Amorim. "Our performance was getting better during the second half, so my feeling was to avoid altering the setup with the players in attack."

The midfielder had a deal in progress to join the Italian club in the final stages of the summer window but the club would not sanction a transfer. The striker was coming back from a fitness issue but is currently open to the possibility of a move back to Serie A.

The situation is complicated by the absence of Mbeumo and the wing-back to the continental tournament in the midst of the winter, a time which features a couple of midweek games which will demand a level of rotation not previously needed.

As the championship match is on 18 January, the duo should be back well before the signing period ends on 2 February - which may mean a later resolution than any eager to leave player would like.

"It is the demands of the game," said the coach, when asked specifically about the forward and the midfielder. "The players understand it's temporary.

"It isn't related to ability - and we have a lot of games."