Gary Lineker’s successor? Kelly Cates reacts to Match of the Day contender talk with Sky Sports presenter eager to ensure ‘people don’t get sick of me’

It has been revealed that former England international Lineker will be walking away from hosting duties on the BBC’s flagship Premier League highlights programme when his lucrative contract expires at the end of the season.

Speculation is already rife regarding who will step into that void, with the likes of Mark Chapman and Gabby Logan – who already fill presenting roles for the BBC – considered to be frontrunners. Cates, who is the daughter of Liverpool legend Kenny Dalglish, is another name to have been added to the mix.

The popular Sky Sports presenter, who works alongside Gary Neville and Co on Super Sunday coverage, has told The Independent when asked about the MOTD gossip: “Do you know, and you never want to say this, but at the moment I’ve got a really lovely mix of everything. 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 - who hosts the ‘Not Just Football’ podcast alongside Hayley McQueen and Christine Lampard on BBC Radio 5 Live – added on supposedly being in contention to follow Lineker into the most distinguished of roles: “Gary is still very much in the job and I know him. Chappers and Gabby, who are also being mentioned as frontrunners, are really good mates of mine. I’m certainly not going to put myself in the frame for a job that still has somebody in it and where the people being linked with it are my friends. And I love doing live football. I’m happy where I am.

“When I cover Liverpool games at Anfield, I get to catch up with my mum and dad, even if it’s just five minutes because they’re always the last ones out of the building. I usually head straight back to London if it’s a Sunday game, but I always pop up and say hello. I do some work at Premier League Productions out of Stockley Park on a Monday morning show with Ian Wright. We pick out the big stories of the weekend, so I get to do all kinds of really interesting things and I’m really busy. Moreover, I do them all in different places so people don’t get sick of me! I’m not angling or looking to do something different because I’m genuinely happy with what I’m doing.”

Lineker has spent 25 years fronting Match of the Day, having taken over from presenting legend Des Lynam in 1999. He must now decide what the future holds for him, with the 63-year-old working for a number of other companies while also dipping his toe into the world of podcasts alongside Alan Shearer and Micah Richards on ‘The Rest Is Football’.