Gatland is by far Wales’ longest-serving coach – in charge for 12 years until he left after the 2019 World Cup only to return at the end of 2022.
During his first spell, he won 85 of the 151 games with a win rate of more than 56%.
However, that rate for his second stint is down to 32% after just six wins from 19 games – including a whitewash during the Six Nations.
He offered his resignation to Welsh Rugby Union chief executive Abi Tierney after that first Wooden Spoon in 21 years, which was turned down.
Gatland has stuck with his plan to blood young talent with four more new caps at Twickenham on Saturday in Ellis Bevan, Eddie James, Jacob Beetham and James Ratti. And he believes that will stand Wales in good stead.
“Absolutely I feel more optimistic about the tour ahead,” he said after the South Africa loss.
“There were a lot of positives to take, especially when we were under the pump with two early cards. I think a few calls didn’t go our way.
“But we’ve got to identify certain areas where we can get better. We will look at the impact off the bench but also nailing big moments.
“We were guilty of missing a few opportunities in attack but also we weren’t accurate in defence when we got caught out a few times.
“But that is about experience and a lot of players out there will have learned a lot from it.”
