Michael Carrick is confident Manchester United have turned a corner after a battling display at Elland Road earned them a 1-1 draw with Leeds.
United are now without a win in six games in all competitions and have just two wins from 10 all season, but they did show improvement in West Yorkshire.
Bryan Mbeumo gave them a first-half lead, only for Dominic Calvert-Lewin to level after the break, and although there wasn't always a great deal of quality on show, Carrick felt there were green shoots of recovery within the performance.
Fresh start at Elland Road
He also sensed his players had redoubled their efforts in the last couple of days, digging deep to try and find a way out after a wretched start to a season that had begun with so much promise.
"We're not getting too carried away because we haven't won the game, but I think if you keep doing the right things for the right reasons, then you get what you deserve in the end," said Carrick. "And I think that was a bit of a fresh start today, to be honest, with where we're at, accepting it, and doing something about it."
"Definitely shows that the boys are desperate to do well for each other as much as anything else, and how much they appreciate playing for this football club, because there was a real purpose to the group over the last couple of days, and they took it on the pitch."
"That's a tough game today, I have to say, that's a tough game the way they play, and it can find you out pretty quickly, and the boys stood up to it really well."
Stable enough to keep doing the right things
United are 13th in the Premier League and have made their worst start to a league campaign in 40 years and while Carrick accepts results haven't been good enough, he remains convinced things will turn in his team's favour sooner rather than later.
"We're not accepting it as everything's great by any stretch, so I'm realistic with that. But sometimes you do struggle, sometimes there's a bit of where you have to find a way through it," he said.
"We haven't really had to go through that yet, and we have to find a way through it. And there has been a cycle at times here over a period of time when it can go in different directions.
"We've got to be stable enough to keep doing the right things, like I said, for the right reasons as a group, and we're more than capable of winning football matches."
"It depends on what you focus on. I understand the situation doesn't look too good if you look at it from a certain way, but I have no doubts that we can go on a good run."
