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When you cannot win, avoid defeat - according to traditional wisdom.

Before their visit to Nottingham Forest, Man Utd had secured only eight points from deficit situations with their manager. They had failed to secure any from the previous six games when they trailed since the match to AFC Bournemouth last spring, when a late effort secured a draw.

When they found themselves trailing at the stadium after conceding two goals in a short span, as Forest reversed a contentious first-half goal, Manchester United were facing defeat.

The question to Amorim after his side fought back to draw could not have been more straightforward.

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

The response was just as emphatic.

"Yes, and by a larger margin, that is my feeling."

It's impossible to determine the actual outcome. What we do know that Amad Diallo demonstrated why the coach selects 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's been clear since the start of the campaign that Manchester United are performing at a higher level this term. Since the start of autumn, they have also been getting better results.

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

In this match, Amorim believed his squad showed they have improved at that too.

"In the past, if we had this kind of poor short period and we suffered two goals, we don't recover," said 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 that is a feeling a big team occasionally must possess."

The manager didn't say it, but the addition of the Brazilian forward and Bryan Mbeumo likely contributed.

Cunha is not the type to retreat from difficult situations, actually the opposite indeed. In the opening period, when he was booed by the local supporters for what they felt was his gamesmanship, he responded - rather than ignore it - gesturing toward the crest on his shorts.

The forward is a hustle-bustle menace, the epitome of a player who will not give an rival any rest.

The coach was asked precisely what had caused the psychological growth. Beyond saying the confidence gained from the previous three consecutive victories, he didn't provide an answer.

"The confidence, naturally, is totally changed," he said. "We came from three good games and we have a newfound assurance. We understand one another better. We communicate increased about these aspects.

"We proved this year we can have difficult periods but then, we have three strong performances.

"We just need to be inside the match until the last moments. In the past, we could have collapsed completely the way we performed in the game. Now, the feeling was not that one."

Doubt Remains Over Prospects of Zirkzee and Mainoo

If this was a occasion when United displayed their fighting spirit, it was also a day that must have left Joshua Zirkzee and Kobbie Mainoo increasingly unsure of their roles in Amorim's revamped squad.

In his pre-match media briefing, Amorim stated it was possible members of the squad who believe they are at risk of missing the World Cup will request transfers in the winter transfer window.

It is fair to assume the striker and Mainoo fit into that category. Zirkzee 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 7.

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

"Our squad includes a great deal of talent on the substitutes but sometimes I have the feeling if I'm going to stop the flow all the time, I'm going to interrupt something," said the manager. "We were improving during the second half, so my feeling was not to change the setup with the players in front."

Mainoo had a agreement in place to move to the Italian club in the last days of the transfer period but United would not sanction a transfer. Zirkzee was returning from injury but is now considering the possibility of a move back to Italy.

The circumstances is complicated by the absence of Mbeumo and Amad to the continental tournament in the middle of the winter, a time which features a couple of midweek games which will require a degree of rotation unseen before.

Since the championship match is on 18 January, the pair are expected to be returned long before the transfer window closes on 2 February - which may mean a later outcome than any eager to leave individual would prefer.

"It is the characteristics of the sport," said the coach, when asked specifically about Zirkzee and Mainoo. "They know it's temporary.

"It's nothing to do with quality - and we have a lot of games."