{'A Different Feeling' - Did Man Utd Demonstrated a Mentality Shift?

When you cannot triumph, don't lose - so the old saying goes.

Before their trip to Nottingham Forest, Manchester United had earned merely 8 points from deficit situations with Ruben Amorim. They had failed to secure a single point from the previous six matches when they trailed since the match to Bournemouth last April, when a last-minute goal secured a tie.

When they went down at the City Ground after conceding twice in a couple of minutes, as Forest overturned a disputed first-half goal, United were staring down the barrel.

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

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

The answer was equally forceful.

"Absolutely, and by more goals, that is my feeling."

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

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

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

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

"Previously, if we had such a poor short period and we conceded a couple of goals, we don't recover," stated Amorim. "Now is a different sensation. It's evident we could not triumph in the match but we are determined not to be defeated. And that is a feeling a big team sometimes has to have."

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

The attacker is not one to shy away from challenging circumstances, quite the reverse indeed. In the first half, when he was jeered by the local supporters for what they felt was his tactical play, he responded - rather than ignore it - pointing to the badge on his shorts.

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

The coach was questioned precisely what had led to the mental improvement. Apart from mentioning the confidence generated from the prior three consecutive victories, he didn't provide an answer.

"The confidence, naturally, is completely different," he said. "Following three good games and we have a different assurance. We understand one another more effectively. We talk more about these aspects.

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

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

Uncertainty Remains Regarding Futures of the striker and Mainoo

If this was a occasion when the team showed their resilience, it was additionally a moment that likely created Joshua Zirkzee and the young midfielder even more unsure of their futures in Amorim's new-look Manchester United.

In his before the game press conference, Amorim stated it was possible players who think they are at danger of missing the international tournament will ask to leave in the January transfer window.

It is fair to assume the striker and Mainoo fall into that bracket. The forward has managed less than two full games from his 4 Premier League cameo roles in the current campaign. For Mainoo, the number is 138 from seven.

Neither has started a league match this season and neither were they asked to come off the bench at the stadium, as United sought a route to recovery into a game they were losing from the 50th minute.

"We have a great deal of quality on the substitutes but at times I have the impression if I'm going to disrupt the game constantly, I'm going to break something," said the manager. "Our performance was getting better during the later stages, so my instinct was to avoid altering anything with the guys in front."

The midfielder had a agreement in place to move to Napoli in the final stages of the transfer period but United would not sanction a transfer. The striker was coming back from a fitness issue but is currently open to the possibility of a return to Italy.

The circumstances is complicated by the absence of Mbeumo and Amad to the Africa Cup of Nations in the middle of the winter, a time which features a few weekday matches which will require a degree of squad changes unseen before.

Since the final is on 18 January, the duo are expected to be returned well before the transfer window ends on February 2nd - which could result in a delayed outcome than what wantaway player would like.

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

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