World champions South Africa arrive in the Welsh capital next Saturday.
Wales then face a ferociously tough Six Nations opener against France in Paris on 31 January.
This suggests there is no immediate end in sight to such a miserable run and Gatland admitted he was unsure whether he expected to be in charge for the Springboks match and the subsequent Six Nations campaign.
He insisted, though, the Wales squad would be determined to turn things around next weekend.
“When you’re involved in professional sport, those are the challenges that define you as an individual,” said Gatland.
“When you get out in that arena, you’ve got a lot of people looking at you. It’s how you front up to the challenge.
“You can bury your head in the sand, walk away or you can roll your sleeves up and block up the white noise. Hopefully, we will put on an improved performance that shows some character against the world champions.”
Gatland gave an impassioned message to Wales fans following the Australia defeat.
“We’re really hurting from today,” he said.
“The supporters have been brilliant with the support they’ve given us over the years.
“We probably let them down a little bit. So we need to go out next week and make amends by putting a performance in they can be proud of.”
