MARADONA IS still two days away from being officially confirmed as national team coach of Argentina, but already the pomp and circumstance surrounding his appointment are reaching fever pitch.

Having celebrated his 48th birthday on Thursday, Maradona was due this weekend to travel to England, a trip that will now take place midweek. His purpose – to meet two of the players who are certain to play leading roles in the "Maradona project" – Javier Mascherano and Carlos Tevez.

Mascherano's presence at Hampden remains a doubt – having cut him loose to feature in the Beijing Olympics, Liverpool are reluctant to spare him for friendlies – but if Maradona has it his way, he will be at the heart of things. He has already declared that the Argentina side should be "Masche plus 10". And this week he phoned the midfielder to ask him to be his captain. Unexpectedly, the Liverpool midfielder demurred, claiming his quiet personality off the pitch makes him unsuitable.

If he is clear about who is to be the lynchpin of his side, Maradona faces a more difficult task in determining his most effective permutation in attack.

Messi may be the current golden boy of European football, but his relationship with Maradona is strained. Sergio "Kun" Aguero, his son-in-law and soon to be father of his grandchild, is flourishing at Atletico Madrid; but it is Tevez, though reduced to the role of impact substitute at Manchester United, who looks most likely to be at the forefront of Maradona's scheme to regalvanise the national team up front.

Speaking exclusively to Scotland on Sunday, Tevez could barely contain his excitement at Maradona taking charge.

"It makes me very happy. I have already started to think about what it's going to be like having Diego with us on the bus each time we go to a match," said the Manchester United forward.

"It's a different sensation… and most of all because I will be able to say in the future that I had Diego Maradona as my coach."

Tevez acknowledges that he and Maradona have a close relationship, but says he won't be expecting any favours. "If I think in that way I am lost, because Diego is very serious, especially when it comes to matters of the Argentine national team. He's not going to pick me or any other player if he sees that we are not doing well. He's going to do what he thinks is the best for Argentina.

"The fact that we have a good relationship doesn't mean anything. I don't even know yet if he's going to call me to the team. I have to keep on showing my quality. We'll see what happens when he announces his squad on Tuesday."

Much has been made of Maradona's inexperience as a coach, but Tevez believes that the respect he will command, and his symbolic power for Argentine football, will in themselves, serve as a dynamo for positive change. "I think that he is the only coach that can really make us understand what the national team is and that you have to give your life for it. Diego did so much for the shirt that will be an example for everyone. I think that if we all pull together on the same side we can't lose, especially with the quality of the players that we have."

That could be interpreted as a coded reproach to Leo Messi…

Despite their array of attacking talent, Argentina have recently toiled at the business end and lacked a cutting edge. Tevez has no doubts that Maradona's priority will be to rectify this.

"I suppose that he's going to want to attack all the time, but he's no fool and, of course, he's going to be aware that you can't always do what you want, that you have to be cautious in some games. I'm sure he'll be studying each opponent carefully."

Tevez hinted that Maradona's biggest problem could be achieving the level of detachment required to be a successful coach: "We all know how he is when he gets angry, but as a coach he has to be ice cool otherwise he's going to want to jump on to the pitch with us.

"He knows perfectly well what his new role will be. He's very enthusiastic about what he wants to achieve for Argentina, though working with a big group of star players is never easy."

While Maradona has yet to be officially confirmed in his role, feverish behind-the-scenes negotiations have been under way over the last week to piece together the components of the '"Maradona project" which will reunite many of the supporting cast of Diego's finest hour as a player – Argentina's victorious 1986 World Cup campaign.

Already confirmed is the appointment of Carlos Bilardo, the man who coached the 1986 team to victory. Now 69, Bilardo's presence will go some way to assuage the concerns of those who cite Maradona's lack of real coaching experience. His official title is general director of the national team, and he will, de facto, assume the role of Maradona's consiglieri.

Late on Friday two further members of Maradona's court were confirmed. Sergio Batista – one of his team-mates in the 1986 team – will combine the role of U20 coach with that of assistant coach to the senior team. Jose Luis Brown, who scored one of the goals in the 1986 final against Germany, will likewise double up as senior assistant and U17 coach. It is expected that yet another member of the class of 86, former goalie Sergio Goycochea, will become the goalkeeping coach, while Humberto Grondona – son of Julio Grondona, the president of the Argentine FA – will assume responsibility for youth teams.

Thus, Glasgow will be welcoming a veritable "who's who" of Argentine football when the Maradona show rolls into town later this month. Not that Maradona feels he will need too much moral support, as he returns the county where he scored his first goal for Argentina in 1979: "I go to a country where I am worshipped because the Scots celebrated the two goals I scored against England in 1986," he said this week.

"I know the Scottish celebrated the Hand of God, they tell me that everywhere I go."

Additional reporting by Andres Garavaglia