Jesse Marsch has said that only a salary cap will allow teams like Leeds to compete long-term with the likes of Saudi-backed Newcastle.

Leeds, two points above the relegation zone, plays away at Newcastle on Saturday with Eddie Howe's team third in the Premier League standings.

Marsch said Howe has done an 'amazing job' as Newcastle coach but believes the resources at his disposal don't make it a level playing field. 

'We all know that in this world of football, it's something that's different to American sports,' Marsch said on the eve of the game.

'We have salary caps (in the US) and everyone has a chance when the season starts. I'm sorry, but the way that European football works, that's just not the case.

'And so how do you build? Well one way is a process and continuing to invest every penny the right way, which we are trying to do.

'And another (way) is a massive influx of money. Take Chelsea 25 years ago, take Newcastle now, take Man City 15 years ago, I mean it's a difference-maker.

'But we like us. We like who we are. We like our identity. We like the mentality we've created. We like us, so we're going to go on building in our own way.'

Salary caps in US sports limit what teams can spend on how much players earn. Salary caps come in several forms, but are generally intended to limit player payroll to create parity among teams. 

While the NFL and NHL have ‘hard’ salary caps, strictly limiting team payrolls, the NBA has a ‘soft’ cap, which allows clubs to exceed the spending limit in specific situations, such as rookie contracts or deals to retain tenured players. 

Major League Baseball has no salary cap, much to the dismay of team owners, although there are other mechanisms in place to limit spending and give clubs greater contractual control of younger players.

Marsch is closing in on a year as Leeds coach. This season, Leeds has endured inconsistent form and has only won four games - but two of those have been against Premier League heavyweights Liverpool and Chelsea. 

The Liverpool win at Anfield came after Leeds had been winless in eight league games and pressure was building on Marsch.

But speaking Friday, Marsch insisted the team has better days ahead.

'There's a lot of guys I think who have developed a lot since I've been here,' he said.

'I think Robin Koch right now is playing the best football of his career, I think Pascal (Struijk) is, Tyler Adams is, I think Marc Roca is, I think Rodrigo is, I think Sam Greenwood is, I think Cree Summerville is.

'So the guys who have been a really big part of how we've continued to evolve are showing they're in really good phases of their career and we're going to continue to make them better.'