New Saints chairman Mike Harris wants to see the Cymru Premier more competitive and has challenged other clubs to strive to close the gap.
Saints, the league’s only full-time club, finished 33 points ahead of second-placed Connah’s Quay Nomads this season, securing the Cymru Premier title for the 16th time.
The Football Association of Wales (FAW) recently revealed plans for the biggest change in the competition’s 32-year history.
“Anyone who has money, please come to the Welsh Premier League, but don’t expect to win just because you want to accumulate a few hundred thousand dollars,” Harris said.
“You have to think ‘can I do this next season, will I do it next season?’ Have a philosophy and then you can try it for two or three seasons.
“We need better competition.
“I’ve always been someone who said I would love to play in a league where teams could be full-time or a full-time hybrid.
“We were the first to adopt 3G and that came from Scandinavia – we could train and play when the weather was bad.
“We start there and look at what else they do and how they bring in young players and how they maybe continue at university.
“But then you make your full-time players work around those people’s time and availability.
“You need to figure out what’s right for your club.”
Saints’ hopes of completing a Welsh home treble were ended by Nomads, who secured the JD Welsh Cup with a 2-1 victory at Newport’s Rodney Parade.
Nomad Manager Neil Gibson says the “challenge” is for you and other clubs is to get closer to Santos.
“There are clubs in this league backed by rich people who have invested their money and put it in,” Harris said. BBC Radio Wales’ Call Rob Phillips programme.
“You can invest as much money as you want, but at the end of the day there is only one club that can win every season.
“We had Connah’s Quay, who competed, we had Barry Town, who I will always say pitched our tent to win at that time. You have to say they found a formula to win.
“You need to have some money, but ultimately it’s not just about money.
“You need to have a good recruitment of players, you need to have a good progression of players from youth to the end.
“We’ve been doing this for 25 years.
“How you spend your money is really up to the president and his management team.”
The FAW has previously announced a four-year, £6m investment package in the top flight and the radical plans revealed for the league include more clubs, Friday night games and VAR.
The league’s new format and the number of clubs involved will be revealed in September, but Harris welcomed the FAW’s planned investment.
“Santa [Mooney, FAW chief executive] pushed and pushed and pushed and obviously found some money to support the product, which is good,” Harris added.
“Because at the end of the day, you’re only as good as whoever plays and it’s encouraging to see there’s some money there.
“I’m interested to see how he’s going to reformat the league
“Because competition is key if you want to compare yourself to other European teams, which is where, ultimately, you need to be able to demonstrate your ability against competition from other countries.
“It used to be great to have around 20 teams, but realistically the standard of football was never that inspiring and clubs would cut their budget after a few months if they weren’t doing well.
“In the current format, that means there is usually something in every game you play, whether that’s if you get relegated or if you manage to win a European place.
“It has possibly been very competitive for the teams, but possibly for the spectator, who wants to go to more places and more variety, I can understand that point of view.
“I’m really looking forward to seeing how they bridge that gap.”
