🔗 Share this article

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

Before their trip to Nottingham Forest, Man Utd had secured merely 8 points from deficit situations under their manager. They had not got a single point from the past six games when they found themselves behind since the match to AFC Bournemouth last April, when a last-minute effort secured a tie.

When they went down at the stadium after letting in two goals in a short span, as Forest reversed a controversial first-half goal, United were staring down the barrel.

The inquiry to Amorim after his side recovered to tie could not have been any clearer.

'If that game occurred last season, do you feel it would have ended in defeat?'

The answer was equally emphatic.

"Absolutely, and by a larger margin, in my opinion."

It's impossible to determine the actual outcome. However, we do know that Amad Diallo demonstrated why the coach picks him at wing-back by scoring a sensational first-time volley from just outside the penalty area late in the game to earn a point.

It has been obvious since the start of the season that United are playing better this term. Since the beginning of autumn, they have additionally been getting better results.

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

In this game, the manager felt his squad demonstrated they have got better at that too.

"In the past, if we had this kind of poor short period and we conceded a couple of goals, we wouldn't bounce back," said Amorim. "Now is a different feeling. It's evident we could not triumph in the match but we are determined not to be defeated. And this represents a mindset a major club occasionally must possess."

Amorim didn't say it, but the addition of Matheus Cunha and the winger likely contributed.

Cunha is not one to shy away from difficult situations, actually the opposite in fact. In the first half, when he was booed by the local supporters for what they felt was his gamesmanship, he reacted - rather than ignore it - gesturing toward the crest on his kit.

Mbeumo is a hustle-bustle menace, the perfect example of a player who will never allow an opponent any rest.

Amorim was questioned precisely what had caused the mental improvement. Apart from saying the self-belief gained from the previous three successive wins, he didn't provide an explanation.

"The confidence, naturally, is totally changed," he stated. "We came from three positive performances and we have a different assurance. We understand one another more effectively. We talk more about this.

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

"We just need to be engaged in the match until the final 10 minutes. Previously, we could have lost everything the way we played the game. Now, the impression was not that one."

Uncertainty Remains Regarding Futures of Zirkzee and Mainoo

While this represented a occasion when United showed their fighting spirit, it was also a day that likely created Joshua Zirkzee and Kobbie Mainoo even more unsure of their roles in Amorim's new-look squad.

In his before the game media briefing, the coach said it was likely members of the squad who think they are at risk of not making the international tournament will ask to leave in the January transfer window.

It is fair to assume the striker and the midfielder fall into that bracket. The forward has managed less than two full games from his 4 top-flight cameo roles in the current campaign. For the young player, the total is 138 from seven.

Not one has started a league match so far and nor were they asked to be substituted on at the stadium, as the team chased a route to recovery into a contest they were trailing in from the 50th minute.

"We have a great deal of talent on the bench but at times I have the feeling if I'm going to stop the game constantly, I'm going to break something," said Amorim. "We were improving during the second half, so my feeling was to avoid altering the setup with the guys in attack."

The midfielder had a deal in place to move to the Italian club in the last days of the transfer period but the club would not sanction a deal. The striker was coming back from a fitness issue but is currently open to the possibility of a return to Serie A.

The situation is complicated by the loss of the winger and Amad to the continental tournament in the middle of the winter, a period which features a few weekday matches which will demand a level of rotation unseen before.

As the final is on 18 January, the pair are expected to be back long before the signing period closes on 2 February - which may mean a delayed outcome than what wantaway individual would like.

"It is the demands of the sport," commented Amorim, when questioned specifically about the forward and Mainoo. "They know it's only a phase.

"It isn't related to ability - and we have a many fixtures."