Former midfielder Lee Sharpe has claimed that Leeds United will only earn promotion to the Premier League by spending big in the transfer market.

Leeds have just completed their eighth successive campaign in the Championship and during that time, the club have only finished as high as seventh place on two occasions.

With more clubs due to benefit from parachute payments from the top flight next season, Sharpe has encouraged the club's hierarchy to provide the funds to launch a challenge for the top six.

The 47-year-old told the Yorkshire Evening Post: "I think it's just about cash. I think it's about getting the right amount of cash in and getting the right manager in to bring in the right players to guarantee that you are going to get top six to at least give yourself a chance of the playoffs.

"Otherwise it's never going to work when you are competing with three clubs that are coming down with parachute payments and against other clubs that are putting big investments into the club – like last season the likes of Fulham and Wolves.

"It's a really tough league to get out of and to give yourself the best opportunity you have got to throw some cash at it to get some good people in there."

Sharpe spent three years at Elland Road between 1996 and 1999.