Leeds United boss Steve Evans believes that whoever owns the club, it will be difficult to compete with clubs in the Championship who boast Premier League parachute payments.
Whites fans are desperate to see their side win promotion back to the Premier League, but under Italian businessman Massimo Cellino the club have struggled to put together a credible push for a top six spot.
Cellino has lost the faith of a number of fans, with a poster being run outside Elland Road asking him to leave. But on the pitch, Evans remains confident that when he overhauls the squad he can put Leeds on the path to promotion, with the head coach insisting the club's first team squad is too big.
Asked if Leeds must spend more money to challenge, Evans told LUTV: "I don't know if there has to be more money. We spend good money – we just have to spend it wisely.
"We sit with a first team squad of 27, 28 players – it's too big, too big for a club given where we want to be", he continued.
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"If I look at the clubs that really mean business, they have 21, 22 players, and it's obvious then with the same amount of money they have more quality in that.
"But it's very, very difficult for any club to compete with the parachute payments that are now afforded.
"If you look at next season and the season beyond, the parachute payments are even more money. It's less time, three years instead of four, but there are clubs now in League One who are getting five figure, million pound parachute payments."
And given parachute payments, Evans feels Cellino should be cut some slack when it comes to having Leeds competing with sides that have dropped down from the Premier League.
"It's very tough if you're Leeds United, whoever owns Leeds United, to go toe to toe with the big clubs who get the parachutes", the head coach added.
