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

Prior to their trip to Forest, Manchester United had earned just eight points from deficit situations with Ruben Amorim. They had not got a single point from the previous six games when they trailed since the match to AFC Bournemouth last spring, when a last-minute effort snatched a tie.

When they went down at the stadium after conceding twice in a couple of minutes, as Nottingham Forest reversed a contentious opening period opener, United were staring down the barrel.

The question to the manager after his side recovered to tie could not have been more straightforward.

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

The answer was equally emphatic.

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

We can never know the reality. However, we do know that the young player showed why Amorim picks him at defensive wing by flashing home a sensational volleyed strike from near the edge of the penalty area nine minutes from time to earn a draw.

It has been obvious since the start of the campaign that Manchester United are performing at a higher level this season. Since the beginning of October, they have also been getting better results.

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

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

"Previously, if we had this kind of poor five minutes and we suffered two goals, we don't recover," stated Amorim. "Now is a different sensation. You can sense we might not win this game but we are not going to lose. And that is a feeling a big team sometimes must possess."

The manager didn't say it, but the addition of the Brazilian forward and the winger must have helped.

Cunha is not one to shy away from difficult situations, actually the opposite indeed. In the opening period, when he was jeered by the home fans for what they believed was his tactical play, he responded - instead of ignoring them - gesturing toward the crest on his shorts.

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

The coach was questioned exactly what had led to the mental improvement. Beyond saying the self-belief gained from the previous three consecutive victories, he didn't provide an answer.

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

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

"We just need to be engaged in the match until the final 10 minutes. Previously, we could have lost everything based on how we played the encounter. Today, the feeling was different."

Uncertainty Remains Over Prospects of the striker and Mainoo

While this represented a day when the team showed their resilience, it was also a moment that must have left Joshua Zirkzee and the young midfielder even more unsure of their futures in the manager's new-look Manchester United.

In his before the game media briefing, Amorim said it was possible members of the squad who think they are at danger of missing the international tournament will request transfers in the winter transfer window.

One can reasonably conclude Zirkzee and Mainoo fall into that bracket. The forward has accumulated 82 minutes from his 4 top-flight substitute appearances in the current campaign. For the young player, the total is 138 from seven.

Neither 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 game they were trailing in from the second half.

"We have a great deal of talent on the bench but at times I have the impression if I'm going to disrupt the game constantly, I'm going to interrupt something," explained Amorim. "Our performance was getting better during the later stages, so my instinct was not to change anything with the guys in front."

The midfielder had a agreement in progress to move to Napoli in the final stages of the summer window but United would not sanction a deal. Zirkzee was coming back from injury but is now considering the possibility of a return to Serie A.

The circumstances is complicated by the loss of the winger and Amad to the continental tournament in the middle of the winter, a time which includes a couple of midweek games which will demand a degree of rotation unseen before.

Since the final is on January 18th, the duo should be back well before the signing period closes on February 2nd - which may mean a later resolution than what eager to leave player would like.

"It is the demands of the sport," commented the coach, when questioned directly about Zirkzee and Mainoo. "The players understand it's only a phase.

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