Warren Gatland ‘motivated’ to be Wales boss but outlines ‘no-win situation’ regarding future
Warren Gatland during the warm-up against South Africa.
Wales head coach Warren Gatland has outlined his desire to remain in the hot seat at the Principality Stadium but believes he is almost in a “no-win situation” regarding his future.
Gatland’s side have lost all 12 of their fixtures in 2024, the first time the Welsh national side has gone down in all of its fixtures in a calendar year, and talk continues to swirl on over whether or not he will remain as head coach ahead of the Six Nations.
“We’ll have to wait and see what happens”
The three defeats, to Fiji, Australia and South Africa this Autumn, have really brought the issues surrounding the game in Wales as a whole into the spotlight more than ever, and Gatland is almost becoming the figurehead of them, but he said he will learn his fate in “the next couple of days”.
“We’ll have to wait and see what happens over the next couple of days, I think,” Gatland told the media after the loss to the Springboks.
“Look, I’m only human, and the last few weeks have been challenging and tough. We (the coaches) question ourselves about what we could have done better after each game, what could I have done better in that week; but that’s no different to when you’re winning too you still ask yourself the same questions.”
He added: “We’ll just see what happens over the next few days and chat with the powers that be and family as well.”
Gatland only returned to the position last year ahead of the World Cup, but since then has only won six of his 24 games since returning. In his first stint in charge, the Kiwi coach led Wales to three Grand Slams and two World Cup semi-finals. He also led the British and Irish Lions on three successive tours.
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“I’m motivated to be here”
Following this rotten run of form, questions have begun to surface regarding whether the esteemed coach would even want to continue as Wales head coach, but once again he laid all his cards on the table saying he “definitely” wanted to continue in the role.
“As I said, the last few weeks have been challenging, in terms of the negativity, and you wouldn’t be human if that doesn’t have an impact on you. You’ve got to assess what’s happened and talk to the right people,” he said.
“I’m motivated to be here, with a good group of men that will be working hard towards the Six Nations, where they can only get better.”
Despite this, he outlined how he felt in a “no-win situation” regarding the questions on his future.
“You feel like a no-win situation sometimes when you’re asked these questions (about his future), but I do definitely want to be here and it’s just about letting the dust settle over the next few days.”
