This is Welsh rugby's twitching hour. A World Cup is appearing on the horizon, a time, so the past dictates, when the national coach should feel no more secure than a tent in a hurricane. Wales have gone into every tournament bar the first, in 1987, having changed their head coach within 15 months of its start, never slow to panic when things go wrong.

Warren Gatland, who is 26 months into his reign, was not amused to read last week that this year's Six Nations was make or break for him. He spent much of his media conference this week ­expressing his frustration at the pessimism he fears is endemic in the country. Glasses are never half full: Wales are either amazing or atrocious.

Wales won the grand slam under Gatland in 2008 and last year finished fourth. On the surface, that would indicate the decline that had immediately followed Wales's other years of success since the early 80s: 1988, 1994 and 2005. Yet they won more matches than they lost, something they did not do in 1989, 1995 and 2006, and went into the final round against Ireland with a chance to win the title.

In their two defeats, against France and Ireland, Wales were denied victory at the death. "Yet I keep reading that we flopped last year," Gatland said. "I admit to making a mistake in fielding a much-changed side in our fourth game against Italy because, in the end, it cost us second place on points difference, but the media here are quick to criticise and part of my job in the last couple of weeks has been to build up the confidence of the players and exorcise the negativity that has built up. It shouldn't be like that."

Wales have had their best two years in the championship since the end of the 1970s, eight victories out of 10, but the focus in Wales is more on the eight defeats in 17 matches since the grand slam. Is the run evidence that Wales are in the ­familiar decline that has followed their sporadic periods of success in the last three decades or should the emphasis be put on that, under Gatland, Wales have been beaten decisively only twice, in South Africa and at home to Australia last November, and that they are closer to the major southern hemisphere nations than at any other time in the modern era?

"I find it bizarre that the Six Nations can be considered make or break for Gatland," said Garin Jenkins, the former Wales hooker who endured regular coaching upheavals in his career. "This bandwagon has to be taken off the road immediately or we will become a laughing stock. The notion that we should consider changing what is one of the best management teams around with the World Cup not far away is something I cannot understand. We have to learn from the mistakes of the past.

"The pieces are coming together in the Welsh game. The regions are making an impact in cross-border tournaments and, despite a lengthy injury list, we start against England with nine Lions from last summer. I accept the autumn could have been better but this is the strongest squad we have had for years and what I would say about the coming weeks is that it is the players who have a statement to make, not the coaches."

Gatland is Shane Williams's seventh national coach in an international career that started 10 years ago. "It's always been a rollercoaster but people have to realise how fine the margins are at the top level," the 32-year-old wing said. "We were within a couple of metres of winning the Six Nations again last year but ended up fourth. A problem in Wales is that it seems to be one extreme or the other: Graham Henry turned from the great redeemer into a villain and the pressure he came under was awful. We are far too quick to press the panic button. I remember when I was a fan and took defeats personally, very quickly disheartened, but you have to keep a perspective.

"We are building for the future under Warren and we have a squad that is ­capable of winning things. I would not want to be in any other squad in the world. I have no doubt that Wales can be up there with the best and win more grand slams and certainly World Cups: it's a question of when. In physical terms, I think we have best team on paper in Six Nations: it's down to the psychological. Sometimes we question whether we are good enough. We do not have to and only need to look at each other and how we train and play to realise we are good enough. Are we used to winning big tournaments? When we win something do we think it's a one-off? We need to get to the point where we go into these tournaments expecting to come first."

The Welsh Rugby Union, all too twitchy and sensitive to public opinion in the past, is firmly behind the head coach, but defeat at Twickenham would sustain Gatland's critics. "There is a more positive attitude in New Zealand going into games than there is in Wales," said Gatland, who hails from Waikato. "I have struggled with that at times. Silly news is part of the build-up, but there are two games going on here, one on the field and one off it.

"A lot of pressure in rugby seems to be driven by football, where there is a ­revolving door for managers. Sometimes coaches are not given time, 12 months if they are lucky, but look how England ­benefited from giving Clive Woodward time after a couple of seasons when they under-­performed. We are all under ­pressure because it is all about results."