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If you can't win, avoid defeat - according to traditional wisdom.

Prior to their trip to Nottingham Forest, Man Utd had gained just eight points from deficit situations with their manager. They had failed to secure any from the past six matches when they trailed since the match to Bournemouth last spring, when a late goal secured a draw.

When they went down at the stadium after conceding twice in a short span, as Nottingham Forest reversed a controversial first-half opener, United were facing defeat.

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

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

The answer was just as emphatic.

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

We can never know the actual outcome. However, we do know that Amad Diallo demonstrated why the coach selects him at defensive wing by scoring a sensational volleyed strike from near the edge of the box late in the game to secure a point.

It's been clear since the start of the season that United are playing better this term. Since the beginning of autumn, they have also been getting better results.

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

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

"Previously, if we had this kind of bad short period and we conceded two goals, we wouldn't bounce back," said the coach. "Today is a distinct sensation. It's evident we could not triumph in this game but we are determined not to be defeated. And this represents a mindset a big team sometimes has to have."

Amorim didn't say it, but the signing of Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo must have helped.

Cunha is not one to shy away from challenging circumstances, on the contrary indeed. In the first half, when he was booed by the local supporters for what they felt was his tactical play, he responded - rather than ignore it - gesturing toward the badge on his kit.

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

Amorim was asked exactly what had led to the mental improvement. Beyond saying the confidence gained from the previous three successive wins, he didn't provide an answer.

"Our self-belief, of course, is completely different," he stated. "Following three good games and we have a different assurance. The players comprehend one another more effectively. We talk more about this.

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

"We just need to be inside the game until the final 10 minutes. In the past, we could have lost everything the way we performed in the encounter. Now, the feeling was different."

Uncertainty Lingers Regarding Prospects of Zirkzee and Mainoo

While this represented a day when the team showed their fighting spirit, it was also a day that likely created the Dutch forward and the young midfielder increasingly uncertain of their roles in the manager's new-look Manchester United.

In his pre-match press conference, the coach stated it was likely players who think they are at danger of not making the international tournament will ask to leave in the winter signing period.

It is fair to assume Zirkzee and the midfielder fit into that category. The forward has managed less than two full games from his four top-flight substitute appearances in the current campaign. For the young player, the number is 138 from seven.

Neither has begun a Premier League match this season and nor were they asked to come off the bench at the stadium, as United chased a way back into a contest they were trailing in from the 50th minute.

"We have a lot of talent on the substitutes but at times I have the impression if I'm going to disrupt the flow all the time, I'm going to break something," explained the manager. "Our performance was getting better during the later stages, so my feeling was not to change the setup with the players in attack."

Mainoo had a agreement in place to join the Italian club in the final stages of the summer window but United would not sanction a deal. The striker was coming back from injury but is now open to the possibility of a return to Serie A.

The circumstances is complicated by the loss of Mbeumo and the wing-back to the Africa Cup of Nations in the middle of December, a period which includes a few weekday matches which will require a level of squad changes unseen before.

As the final is on 18 January, the duo are expected to be returned well before the transfer window closes on 2 February - which could result in a delayed outcome than any eager to leave individual would like.

"It is the demands of the game," said the coach, when asked directly about the forward and Mainoo. "The players understand it's only a phase.

"It isn't related to quality - and we have a lot of fixtures."