Andy Ritchie believes that Leeds will be successful next season if manager Garry Monk is given licence to spend in the summer transfer window.
The Whites finished the season seventh-placed in the Championship and just missed out on the league play-offs.
The Yorkshire giants had been in the running for a top-six finish all year, but a dip in form at the back-end of the season saw them drop away.
However, Monk restored real faith at Elland Road during his first season and their fans are now dreaming of a return to the Premier League in the near future.
Ritchie has backed the 38-year-old manager to mastermind another Leeds promotion challenge next year, but has urged the club to back him full in the transfer window.
“Sometimes these campaigns are a flash-in-the-pan but in Garry’s position I’d be pretty happy with the general framework at the club,” Ritchie wrote in the Yorkshire Evening Post. “What he needs now is free rein to dictate what happens this summer and a decent budget to pursue some meaningful transfer targets.
“Do that and I think it’s inevitable that Leeds will be in the running next season.”
Monk was unable to spend big last summer and managed to exceed all pre-season expectations.
However, many supporters feel that they should have backed their boss in the January window but he was restricted to just loan deals.
Leeds fans are still patiently waiting for confirmation of Monk’s future as he reaches the end of his one-year deal, but he has been in talks with owners about extending his stay with the Yorkshire giants.