WALES coach Warren Gatland is at it again, he’s playing his usual mind games as the countdown really begins to the autumn series and the mouthwatering opener against the All Blacks in particular on November 7.

Now there’s no harm at all in trying to instil a sense of belief into his team, some of the players will have it in spades anyway after their heroic efforts for the British and Irish Lions against the world champion South Africans in their own back yard this summer – explosive centre Jamie Roberts in particular.

And it’s also true that the All Blacks didn’t have their best of Tri Nations series, losing to the Springboks three times in a row which for them amounted to near humiliation while their triumvirate of coaches - Graham Henry and Steve Hansen, well known to us here in Wales, plus Wayne Smith – have come under increasing pressure, with calls for their resignation.

But have you ever known a poor All Blacks team to tour these islands? Just when do we ever catch them cold? Is it not true that Wales haven’t beaten their old foes from Down Under since 1953 for goodness sake?

Yet Gatland spent much of yesterday’s opening skirmishes after announcing his squad for the autumn series being, well, pure Gatland.

Of course, Wales are capable of beating the All Blacks, he said. Did they not lead them 9-3 in the corresponding game 12 months ago (they later subsided to a 29-9 defeat) and the visitors had said after the match that they felt under severe pressure in the first half.

Not only that but Gatland, in that understated way of his, blasted the Guinness Premiership as being the poorest he had experienced this season and he also had a go at Dwayne Peel.

For while he would welcome the Sale scrum half being available for the match against the All Blacks he was critical of the player and his agent for not insisting on a clause in his contract to release him for all internationals – in the way Jonny Wilkinson did after his decision to move to France to join Toulon.

But Gatland – and you can’t blame him I guess – is almost overlooking the fact that Wales are going in against the All Blacks in less than a fortnight without a specialist full back, almost certainly without a recognised tight head prop and probably without not just his leading scrum half but the second choice as well.

Lee Byrne, who has been a revelation under Gatland both for Wales and the Lions, is out until well into the new year with more ankle trouble, and the cupboard there is pretty bare.

Gatland has decided against going for youngsters like Jason Tovey and Daniel Evans or for someone more experienced like Barry Davies.

That means he will decide between James Hook and Leigh Halfpenny, both of whom have played there before, but are hardly heavyweights in the position.

The coach gave a pretty clear signal yesterday that he would opt for Hook, if only because of his footballing abilities, but it has got to be a gamble and we’ll wait and see how he deals with the high ball at the same time as someone like Richie McCaw arrives.

On to scrum half and with Mike Phillips also out until comfortably into the new year, Gatland would have gone for Peel, but though he has included him in the squad it is highly unlikely he will be available for the All Blacks game because it falls outside the international window and as an English club Sale obviously don’t conform to the participation agreement between the regions and the Welsh Rugby Union.

That means third choice Gareth Cooper will almost certainly play though he hasn’t even been first choice for the Blues, even if he did have a better game against the Ospreys last Saturday.

And at tight head prop the only specialist in the squad in the absence of Adam Jones – another injury victim – is Craig Mitchell, and he can’t get into the Ospreys team, Cae Griffiths preferred with Jones missing.

Mitchell, in fact, played for Neath in the Welsh Premiership last weekend, hardly the right preparation to face the All Blacks.

In fact, he almost certainly won’t anyway, Gatland again giving a pretty clear hint that he will switch Gethin Jenkins from loose head to fill the position.

While he has done it before he has only played twice since a shoulder operation post Lions tour, and any move will detract from his performance as arguably the best loose head prop in the world.

So there you have it, Wales going in against one of their biggest enemies with some real concerns, with a lack of a specialist in at least two positions and with a number three choice in another.

Yet Gatland firmly believes Wales can end their 56-year drought against the All Blacks. Good on yer mate, as the opposition might say, but I can’t see where he gets his optimism from. Mind games again!