Diogo Dalot confident Man Utd are heading in the right direction | OneFootball

Diogo Dalot believes Manchester United are “on the right track” despite falling to a 13th loss of a miserable Premier League campaign at Nottingham Forest.

Ruben Amorim’s men failed to turn spells in the ascendancy into a positive result on Tuesday, when the third-placed hosts dug deep for a 1-0 win secured through United academy graduate Anthony Elanga’s scintillating solo goal.

United languish a lowly 13th in the standings with eight matches to play and are just one defeat away from equalling their record of Premier League defeats in a single season, which was set under Erik ten Hag last term.

But Dalot sees promising signs as the side adapts to Amorim’s approach, with the right-back saying they “did enough to win the game” on a night when they had 24 shots but lacked a cutting edge.

“(Our fighting spirit) shows how much we wanted and shows how much we want to change the situation, to not be in the position that we are, especially in the Premier League,” he said.

“And if we want to be competitive in the future, we have to start behaving like this and we have to perform like this.

“Then I think the results will come in the end, but this little bit will have to come first if you want to compete for the Premier League and the biggest titles.

“We have to start creating these habits and then try to be consistent on that and then I think the results will come by itself.

“We still have to suffer a little bit, but in terms of trying to get out of this situation and trying to improve I think we are on the right track.”

Dalot is desperate for United to turn improvements into results, starting with a derby win against Manchester City on Sunday before their crunch Europa League quarter-final with Lyon gets under way in France next Thursday.

“I don’t think there’s much to say, it’s a derby,” he told MUTV. “We have to win it, play with our fans. I think the atmosphere will be unbelievable, so really excited.”

As for Forest, the Premier League surprise package head to fellow FA Cup semi-finalists Aston Villa on Saturday having secured two key triumphs during a frantic return from the international break.

The quarter-final clash at Brighton went the distance and was decided on penalties at the weekend, with Nuno Espirito Santo’s weary side needing to dig deep to hang onto victory three days later.

“It’s important for us to rest and recover,” matchwinner Elanga said. “It was a fantastic win and we’re so thankful to the fans. We felt the support and they’re our 12th man and it was important to have them here.

“It’s credit to all the players that started against Brighton and again. (Wednesday) is all about recovery because we have another big game on Saturday against Villa who are doing well as well.

“We’re all together, it’s something Nuno has instilled in us – we defend together, we attack together.”