Ally McCoist and former Man Utd goalkeeper Ben Foster have picked out lots of positives after the Red Devils held Tottenham to a 2-2 draw on Saturday.
Spurs thought they had won the game when Richarlison put Thomas Frank’s side ahead in second half injury time after Bryan Mbeumo and Mathys Tel had scored earlier in the match.
But Matthijs de Ligt popped up in the sixth minute of injury time to salvage a point from the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and keep Man Utd on a run of five Premier League matches unbeaten.
Many onlookers were underwhelmed by the performance of both teams but McCoist and Foster can see the positives in recent weeks.
McCoist thinks Man Utd are now “harder to play against”, “better in forward areas” and more resilient, while he picked out Amad Diallo and Patrick Dorgu for their good displays against Tottenham.
Speaking to host Jeff Stelling on talkSPORT, McCoist said: “I also think Jeff, in times gone by they wouldn’t have got the point. I think there’s more about them, it’s evident. There’s far more about them. Miles away from the finished article it has to be said. But they look slightly harder to play against, and they certainly look, I think, better in forward areas.
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“Some good performances. I thought Dorgu played well. I thought Amad played really, really well. We’ve mentioned Cunha and Mbeumo before. Those two in particular, at this early stage, I think two terrific new signings can handle it, not even handle it, look as though they’re thriving in that kind of situation.
“So I think at this early stage, there’s must be heaps of positives from Manchester United, but still a lot of work to do. But I take your point. They’re disappointed at getting the point, but I think maybe, you know, certainly last season, I don’t think they’re getting the point.”
When asked if he sensed a changing attitude at Man Utd, former goalkeeper Ben Foster added: “Yeah, I think Ally’s probably just said everything that needed to be said right there. I only watched the game on the TV, but they look okay.
“They look like they’re playing with a lot more confidence and have done for most of this season. But I just think when you sort of contrast it to the quality of Man City, for example, last night, I think it’s very evident there’s still quite a way to go.”
McCoist added: “I think that’s in a nutshell, mate, I really do. I think there’s definitely been improvements. I think the positivity around Manchester United is understandable. And so there should be the small steps, but in terms of the large steps needed to get to the likes of the level of Manchester City, which we saw yesterday, they are still a good bit away.
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“But I still think Amorim speaks really well better, don’t you think? And I think I actually think it was a good piece of ownership coming out and effectively backing him for a couple of years so that everybody knows [he’s going to be there a while]. And just as importantly, never mind the fans knowing, I think the players knowing that he’s going to be there for a while is something as well.”
Foster continued: “I think people just tend to forget that the Premier League is actually really hard. To be honest, the general quality of the Premier League is really, really hard and to put a string of games together [is difficult].
“We’re saying it all over the Premier League, but a string of games together where you’re winning consistently is really, really hard to do. So sometimes you just have to make sure you don’t lose. And I think for Manchester United, they would have lost that game earlier in the season, they would have lost that game.
“They wouldn’t have had it about them to go and really search for that equaliser. I think it’s the mentality shift, the mentality change in the players. They’re all starting to buy into it now, from what the manager is saying. He’s been saying it for the best part of the year, in fairness to him – but I think it’s finally seeping into the players, and you can see when players play with that belief, and that positivity and the confidence, that you get better results for it as well.”