The coach of Atletico Madrid, Javier Aguirre, said on Tuesday that he has no intention of leaving the club.
Aguirre has come under increasing pressure to resign as Atletico Madrid coach following a terrible start to 2009.
Atletico has lost the first three matches of the year, crashing1-3 away to Valenciain La Liga before suffering a 1-3 home defeat to FC Barcelona, a result that has left them virtually knocked out of the Copa del Rey knockout competition.
The third loss was also in the Vicente Calderon on Sunday, when Atletico were well beaten 2-3 by Athletic Club Bilbao.
That defeat was greeted by calls by some sectors of the fans, who demanded that Aguirre either resigned or be sacked. However, the Mexican says he will not leave of his own accord.
"I know myself and I know that it is worth the while for me to carry on. When I accepted the offer to come here, people said good and bad things to me about the place, but one of the things they said, was that if I qualified Atletico for the Champions League they would build a monument for me," he told sports paper Diario Marca.
Atletico is still in the Champions League and currently lies fifth in the Primera Liga, with a good chance of a top four finish again this season. For that reason, Aguirre admitted that he finds it hard to understand the attitude of those who want him out.
"When you are in front of so many people it is complicated. When you speak to one person in the street, you can explain to them that there is a long-term project, high hopes and that we arestill in three competitions.
"I repeat, in three competitions," he said, making it clear that he still believes his team can pull through in the Copa del Rey (Kings Cup).
Aguirre insisted that he was willing to take the bad times and repeated that he wanted to stay at Atletico.
"It would be very easy for me to step aside, but I am not that type of professional. I am not the coach of this club just to enjoy the good times," he said.
Atletico travels to Barcelona for their Copa del Rey return leg on Wednesday. They are favorites to be knocked out after that first leg defeat and if that happens, anything other than a win away to Almeria at the weekend could spell the end for Aguirre after two and a half seasons at the Vicente Calderon.
(Xinhua News Agency January 14, 2009)
