'Des was the gold standard'

A contender for the 'Match of the Day' job, Kelly Cates of Sky Sports tells Ross Heppenstall she's not looking to move but if the BBC calls there's one ex-host she'd love to emulate

- Ross Heppenstall

Her odds of succeeding Gary Lineker as the next Match of the Day host have shortened dramatically, but Kelly Cates seems happy enough with her lot in life right now. “Do you know, and you never want to say this, but at the moment I’ve got a really lovely mix of everything,” the Sky Sports presenter tells The Independent from her home in London.

“I’ve got TV, live matches, radio, and when it gets towards the end of the season I do live Champions League games too. I could be at an Olympics or a World Cup during the summer so the balance of everything feels really nice. But I’m not tempting fate.”

Cates has earned huge acclaim for her presenting on Sky Sports’ Premier League coverage, including its flagship Super Sunday programme, working alongside pundits such as Gary Neville, Jamie Carragher, Roy Keane, Jamie Redknapp and Micah Richards. She also hosts on BBC Radio 5 Live and recently started her own podcast, Not Just Football, with Hayley McQueen and Christine Lampard.

Cates’ easy-going style has gained her a reputation as one of the UK’s leading sports presenters. She is behind Mark Chapman and Alex Scott in the early running to succeed Lineker on Match of the Day, but ahead of Kelly Sommers and her close friend Gabby Logan at the time of writing.

Speaking last week before news officially broke of Lineker’s exit at the end of the season, the daughter of Liverpool legend Sir Kenny Dalglish was diplomatic when asked about her chances. “Gary is still very much in the job and I know him,” said Cates. “Chappers and Gabby, who are also being mentioned as frontrunners, are really good mates of mine.