IF you were to draw up the specifications for the hardest possible job in world rugby, it would surely be the one handed to Warren Gatland yesterday. Taking on the world champions is tough enough at any time whatever the venue, but playing them on their own patch, at the end of a long Northern Hemisphere season, and working to a schedule which allows very little time to acclimatise: all those factors explain why many have regarded the British & Irish Lions’ tour to New Zealand next summer as Mission Impossible.

But Gatland, who was confirmed as the Lions’ head coach at a media conference in Edinburgh yesterday, sees it otherwise. Far from being intimidated by such a situation, the 52-year-old believes it is a challenge to be relished.

“To go to New Zealand and lead the team against the back-to-back world champions in their own backyard - there’s no bigger challenge,” Gatland said. “I’m hugely looking forward to it.

“I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t think we had the ability to go to New Zealand and win. I’m the eternal optimist. If you look at the players who are out there, we have some real quality. There’s genuine pace, great footwork, players with experience, size and physicality - and hopefully some belief and confidence as well.

“That’s the important thing. You have to get on that plane believing you’re part of a set-up that can go to New Zealand and win. I think the players are very well aware of how important the next few months are. A lot of them are desperate to be on that plane and go on a tour that is a massive challenge but could be something very, very special.”

A New Zealander himself, Gatland coached the Lions to their series win in Australia four years ago. Now, as then, he has taken a sabbatical from his job as Wales coach, handing over the reins to Rob Howley.

The composition of the 2013 tour squad - 15 Welshmen, 10 from England, nine from Ireland and only three Scots - led to accusations that Gatland was favouring those players he knew best. But he insisted his choices were vindicated by the victory, and yesterday said that he would again choose his squad according to suitability, not nationality.

“The team will be selected on merit. It’s not my role to have any favourites, and we'll pick who we think are the best players. If that's 25 Englishmen and two Welshmen, that'll be the squad.

“If you were going to pick the squad now, then yes, there would be a large contingent of English players. But if they have an average autumn and a poor Six Nations then that’ll soon turn around. Club form will be important for players as well, and some of the form in the Six Nations will have an impact on the 50:50 calls and the balance of the squad.”

It is England’s status as Six Nations champions that makes them likely at present to have the largest contingent in the squad, and the fact that Dylan Hartley captained them to victory last season makes him a strong contender to be skipper of the tour party. But, while acknowledging Hartley’s virtues, Gatland insisted that whoever he chose would not be guaranteed a place in the team if his form during the early weeks on tour did not merit it.

“Dylan has always played on the edge, and that has been one of the traits that has made him such a competitor as a player. The pleasing thing is his discipline. He hasn’t been suspended for a while - that’s a big tick against his name. It’s easier to select players who are coming in from a winning environment with a lot of confidence. It’s the same when you’re picking captains.

“If I was picking a captain and picking a test side: is that person in a pretty good position to be starting? – that’s one consideration. Even if you’re the Lions captain, there’s no guarantee that you’ll be in the Test team. I’ve got no problem dropping a tour captain if someone else started playing better.”

Gatland plans to take a slightly larger squad than the 37 that went last time, but has around eight months to decide. In the meantime, he is simply glad to back in a job that he believes has a unique appeal.

“When you think there are 30,000 supporters are going on this tour and 80 per cent of the tour packages are already sold – that speaks for itself. Every four years you are going and playing one of the top three teams in the world in their own backyard with a squad from four nations, and there is limited preparation. The odds are hugely stacked up against you, but if you can go there and be successful and play some good rugby, that’s an important thing.”