Even before this new collection of players gathered for the first time back in September, the head coach made it clear this season was not going to be about him.

Yes, Alvin Gentry is in the final year of his contract. But no, it's not something he is concerning himself with on a daily basis.

What's foremost on his mind these days is how to dig his club out of its current hole. The Suns currently own the second-worst record in the Western Conference.

It's that 7-15 mark and season-high seven-game losing streak (longest such slide since 2003-04, the season before the return of Steve Nash) that has national pundits talking and asking questions of ownership.

Suns managing partner Robert Sarver recently told USA Today that Gentry "is not an issue for us this year. We're not looking to make a (coaching) change."

Sarver's support -- while on some level appreciated, is not anything Gentry needed to hear. In other words, it's not going to affect how he attacks his job, which is trying to lead the Suns to the playoffs, a destination they have not reached in either of the last two seasons.

"I don't really worry about that," he said Tuesday when asked about Sarver's comments. "I come to work. I do the best I can. I do everything that I can to prepare the team. That's out of my hands. That's not my decision so I don't spend time worry about it. I really don't.

"I try to get the team in the position for us to play," Gentry continued. "No one really likes to lose. No one likes to be in the situation that we're in. Me, the players, the assistant coaches, management or the ownership, no one likes to be in that situation. I'm not going to spend my time worry about that because I don't have any control over that. I have control over what goes on out here (on the court) and how hard we work and how we prepare and that's all that I'll ever do."