Legendary broadcaster Barry Davies was 'surprised' by the BBC's decision to replace Gary Lineker as the host of Match of the Day with three presenters.
Mail Sport previously revealed that Kelly Cates would share hosting responsibilities of the flagship weekend Premier League highlights show and its midweek Champions League package alongside Gabby Logan and Mark Chapman from next season.
The news follows confirmation that the current main host of the Saturday night programme, Lineker, will stand down from the role at the end of the term after 26 years in the role.
Davies, who worked on the programme from 1969 until 2004 before being called back for a special on-off gig in 2014, admitted his shock at the decision.
The 87-year-old commentary great, who became the first of his trade to be inducted into the National Football Museum hall of fame this month, questioned the wisdom of replacing Lineker with three presenters.
'I'm surprised at the decision that's been made,' he told The Sun. 'But then I'm quite surprised at the jobs that are given to various people these days, and the need apparently to use people.
'They're very good broadcasters, but I'm surprised that they think it's better to have three people doing it.
'Gary himself would feel that he's done long enough. They're all very good broadcasters, and they know about the games, no doubt about that.'
This week, Logan assured Match of the Day fans that the program 'won't be totally different' when she takes over from Gary Lineker as part of the show's new three-person presenting team.
'Nobody wants to throw the baby out with the bath water. It’s a football highlights show, we’ve got the same kind of pundits… and it’s all about the football,' the presenter told the ainslie + ainslie Performance People podcast.
Logan, whose appointment was announced by the BBC in January, revealed that she and her fellow co-hosts went to great lengths to keep the news a secret ahead of their unveiling.
The trio created a secret WhatsApp group to discuss all things Match of the Day and strike a closer bond ahead of the big reveal - and even deleted messages to make sure the news stayed between them.
'I didn't even tell my mum,' Logan added, having only told her husband and former Scotland rugby star Kenny.
'I set up a group chat and called it "The Match of the Day three" and there were disappearing messages as Chappers was really paranoid about this.
The only person I told was Kenny!'
It is understood BBC executives, headed by new director of sport Alex Kay-Jelski, are eager to move the show in a fresh direction with the appointment of Logan, Chapman and Cates.
Having a rotating cast and two female presenters on Match of the Day is a huge change for the show after over a quarter of a century with Lineker in the hotseat.
Logan applauded the fact that broadcasting is a 'completely different landscape' for women working in sport, both in front of and behind the camera.
