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Maradona insists he won't leave Argentina job

Diego Maradona has denied that he could quit his role as Argentina coach and insisted that people have misinterpreted his comments ahead of the two do-or-die World Cup qualifiers.

The Albiceleste legend is under immense pressure to turn around the situation that his team finds itself in and find the wins it needs against Peru and Uruguay. The alternative is not going to South Africa.

Amid all the talk in the build-up, Maradona was thought to have stated that he could well leave the post if his demands were not met, but now he insists that is not the case.

"I am neither quitting nor going, I want to make that clear to everyone," he told reporters at the press conference ahead of the game against Peru on Saturday. "I have to have a meeting with [Argentinian FA president Julio] Grondona and, if everything goes well, then I will continue and if not, then we shall see.

"I did not speak about [technical secretary Carlos] Bilardo or anybody else. People should not interpret these things as they want to. They should not look to find something that is not there. The day that I decide to leave I will tell everyone."

Maradona then looked ahead to the final two qualifiers and insisted that his players have not been offered any financial incentives and that both he and his team are ready for the matches.

"That business about incentives finishes when the players go onto the pitch," he continued. "There is no money that can buy glory because when go out there and it is eleven against eleven, nobody can offer them anything.

"I am feeling good and now we have to play well against Peru on Saturday and win and then go to Uruguay and do something there as well," he admitted. "They are the two most important games in my career as a coach and I am confident."