ITV will reward Terry Venables with a lucrative new contract and boost his screen profile next season following the former England manager's decision not to become Middlesbrough manager.

Venables is contracted for this season as an expert summariser for ITV's Champions League and FA Cup coverage.

Next season, however, ITV will also replace BBC's Match of the Day and provide Premiership highlights on Saturday evenings. The channel is expected to screen their highlights show as early as 8pm, and a spokesman said plans included a major role for Venables.

Paul Tyrrell, ITV's head of press, insisted the channel had applied no pressure on Venables to reject Middlesbrough's overtures.

He said: ''Terry is very highly respected at ITV by executives and by his peers, such as Des Lynam.

''We have said to Terry all along that it was his personal decision and that it was a decision we would have backed either way.

''Terry's very important to us - he's a big and important element of ITV's football coverage.

''It is clear that our coverage expands next season and if Terry's now not going to be involved in the day-to-day running of a Premiership club it's likely his involvement with ITV Sport is going to expand next season.''

Tyrrell said Venables would have been unable to manage Middlesbrough and work on the Saturday evening Premiership highlights show as well.

''We have said to Terry to make his decision on Middlesbrough and then we would react accordingly,'' he said.

''The highlights programme is going to be screened earlier in the evening than the BBC do with Match of the day and it would be impossible to appear on that and manage a Premiership club as well.''

Venables also has earnings from other media activities - he has a newspaper column for the News of the World and presents a Saturday afternoon show for Virgin Radio.

He has been reported this week to earn just under £300,000 from ITV and with his other activities nets an estimated £650,000 a year.

A new contract with ITV would probably run for the three years of their Premier League deal, which starts in August.

It would be similarly lucrative though he would earn more if, as expected, his TV workload increases.

l Venables will be on Virgin Radio's Rock and Football show between 12 and 2pm this afternoon where he will detail his decision