Salford owner Marwan Koukash has called for a raising of the Super League salary cap to enable him to pack his side with big-name players.
Despite having had a big cash offer for England full-back Sam Tomkins rejected outright by Wigan, the millionaire racehorse owner is determined to lure the stars to the Salford City Stadium.
But Koukash, who is continuing his search for a big-name coach, says his bid to transform the City Reds' fortunes are in danger of being stifled by the cap on players' wages, pointing to the disparities on view at the recent World Club Challenge to press his case for change.
He said: "How could the World Club Challenge be a fair contest when you've got Melbourne operating with a £3.5million cap and you've got Leeds operating on a £1.8million cap?
"That's not fair. If we are serious about raising the profile of rugby league, which is massively undermarketed, then somebody up there who runs the sport needs to start considering creating a level playing field. "We need to start looking at ways we can raise the salary cap."
Koukash, who also failed in attempts to sign Warrington's Salford-born captain Adrian Morley and Castleford's 2011 Man of Steel Rangi Chase, has spoken about trying to bring back the players the club lost during their financial troubles. He also wants the salary cap regulations amended so that exceptions could be made for "special players" and those from rugby union.
"If I want to recruit the best player in rugby league, I should be allowed to do so and clubs should be allowed to recruit one or two players - special players - from outside the cap," he added. "That way you could reverse the process of losing players to rugby union or even recruit the better players from rugby union.
"It's not just Salford that would be able to do it, there's a number of other teams that could do it and all of a sudden you start putting bums on seats and you raise the profile of the game." Meanwhile, Koukash has defended his decision to sack Phil Veivers as head coach five games into the season and dismissed comparisons of his methods with those of Chelsea Football Club owner Roman Abramovich.
"I am not at all like Roman Abramovich in any way," Koukash told the Manchester Evening News. "I am my own man and always do what I think is best. "I know that I do not need rugby league experience to make the right decisions to help this club prosper. "The culture of the whole club stinks right now and I have to change that. All departments need revamping. This is something I have to do and will do.
"The honeymoon period is definitely over, I want to see some progress because I will also be judged on my results." Koukash added: "I learned to manage people when I came into horseracing and I know what I want to see happen at Salford. I am not prepared to wait six or seven years for us to be successful.