AUBURN, Ala. — Gus Malzahn started off his weekly Tuesday press conference candidly.

In the seven years he’s been part of Auburn’s football program, first as the offensive coordinator from 2009-11 and now in the midst of his fourth season as head coach, Malzahn noted he had “experienced some very good times, a few rough times.”

But in terms of adversity, nothing comes close to matching what he’s dealt with this season.

“The last two losses have probably hurt me worse than any of the others,” said Malzahn, referring to home defeats to Clemson and Texas A&M, respectively. “I fully understand our fan base is disappointed, and they should be. The bottom line is we've got to coach our players better, and that starts with me. The fact is, we're close. As a matter of fact, we're real close to being a good team and we're going to get this thing turned around.”

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Since putting together a remarkable turnaround campaign in 2013 in his debut season — which saw the Tigers go 12-2 overall, capture the SEC title and come within 13 seconds of winning the BCS national championship — Auburn has steadily trended downward. Among the ugly marks include a seven-game home losing streak to Power 5 opponents dating back to October 2014 and a 2-10 record in their past 12 SEC contests. Things don’t get any easier this week, as Auburn hosts yet another ranked opponent at Jordan-Hare Stadium: No. 18 LSU, which comes to town Saturday for a contest set to kick off at 5 p.m. CT.

Asked how he was dealing with the unrest swirling around him, Malzahn said he's kept his head down and continued working.

“As a leader, you’ve got to correct the things that aren’t going good. That’s my job,” he said. “That’s the only thing on my mind.”

That includes dismissing the notion that Saturday’s game is the most important of his Auburn tenure.

“I look at it (like) each game is the biggest game every time we coach against someone and the urgency that we need to get over that hump,” Malzahn said. “And like I said, we’re close. We’re very close. So it’s a big game, there’s no doubt. “