SKY SPORTS presenter Kelly Cates admits she “panicked” about a joke at Manchester United’s expense following their 7-0 defeat to Liverpool.
Cates, 47, mocked Gary Neville as she brought to a close coverage of Liverpool’s huge victory at Anfield last month, making fun of the Red Devils legend’s earlier claim that the hosts hadn’t even played that well.
She said: “They’ve beaten Manchester United 7-0, it’s a record for this fixture, Mo Salah is now Liverpool’s record Premier League goalscorer… and they didn’t even play that well.”
It was a clear dig at Neville, but Cates, the daughter of Liverpool legend Kenny Dalglish, was left concerned in the aftermath as she felt people may see it as a criticism of Man Utd.
Speaking to The Telegraph about her hilarious sign-off, she said: “If I’d thought about it I wouldn’t have done it.
“I panicked after I said it, that it sounded like a joke aimed at Manchester United.
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“It wasn’t, it was very much a joke aimed at Gary.”
Cates insists Roy Keane took the mockery in good faith as he remained quiet in the studio, while Jamie Carragher and Graeme Souness picked Neville apart.
But Neville could not resist biting back at Cates after her closing remarks, saying: “You are live on Liverpool TV,” before being cut off as the broadcast ended.
Discussing the atmosphere in the studio, Cates added: “The energy in the studio was all a bit giddy but Roy was doing what he always says other people should do, he was just taking his medicine.”
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Cates also talked about the challenge of working with so many big characters – the likes of Neville, Carragher, Souness, Keane and Micah Richards.
But she has revealed she actually prefers to be on screen with the more opinionated pundits.
She said: “Oh, it’s easy, it’s much easier. You want somebody who’s interesting, in the same way that the viewer wants to hear someone interesting.
“You don’t need to draw them out at all, that’s when I’m having to work a bit harder.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
