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When you cannot win, avoid defeat - as the proverb states.

Prior to their visit to Forest, Man Utd had gained just eight points from losing positions under Ruben Amorim. They had not got any from the previous six games when they found themselves behind since the trip to AFC Bournemouth last April, when a last-minute goal secured a tie.

When they went down at the City Ground after conceding twice in a short span, as Nottingham Forest reversed a controversial opening period opener, United were staring down the barrel.

The question to Amorim after his side recovered to tie could not have been more direct.

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

The answer was just as decisive.

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

We can never know the actual outcome. However, we do know that the young player showed why the coach picks him at defensive wing by flashing home a brilliant first-time volley from near the edge of the box late in the game to secure a point.

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

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

In this match, the manager felt his squad showed they have got better at that as well.

"Previously, if we had such a bad short period and we suffered two goals, we don't recover," said Amorim. "Now is a different sensation. You can sense we could not win the match but we are not going to lose. And this represents a mindset a big team occasionally has to have."

The manager didn't mention it, but the signing of Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo probably made a difference.

Cunha is not the type to retreat from challenging circumstances, on the contrary in fact. In the first half, when he was jeered by the local supporters for what they believed was his gamesmanship, he responded - rather than ignore it - pointing to the badge on his kit.

Mbeumo is a constant threat, the perfect example of a footballer who will not give an opponent any rest.

The coach was asked precisely what had caused the psychological growth. Apart from saying the self-belief generated from the previous three successive wins, he didn't provide an answer.

"The confidence, of course, is totally changed," he said. "We came from three good games and we have a different confidence. The players comprehend one another better. We talk more about this.

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

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

Uncertainty Lingers Over Futures of Zirkzee and Mainoo

If this was a day when the team displayed their resilience, it was additionally a moment that likely created the Dutch forward and the young midfielder increasingly uncertain of their roles in the manager's revamped Manchester United.

In his pre-match press conference, the coach said it was possible members of the squad who think they are at danger of missing the international tournament will ask to leave in the January transfer window.

One can reasonably conclude the striker and the midfielder fit into that bracket. The forward has managed 82 minutes from his 4 Premier League substitute appearances this season. For the young player, the number is over two hours from 7.

Neither has begun a league game so far and nor were they called upon to come off the bench at the stadium, as United chased a way back into a contest they were losing from the second half.

"Our squad includes a lot of talent on the bench but sometimes I have the feeling if I'm going to disrupt the game all the time, I'm going to break the rhythm," explained Amorim. "We were improving during the second half, so my feeling was to avoid altering the setup with the players in attack."

Mainoo had a deal in progress to move to the Italian club in the last days of the transfer period but the club would not approve a deal. Zirkzee was returning from a fitness issue but is currently open to the possibility of a move back to Serie A.

The circumstances is complicated by the absence of the winger and the wing-back to the Africa Cup of Nations in the midst of December, a time which features a couple of weekday matches which will demand a degree of rotation not previously needed.

Since the championship match is on 18 January, the duo should be returned well before the transfer window ends on February 2nd - which could result in a delayed resolution than what wantaway player would like.

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

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