Elad Brown has barely had time to unpack at Hapoel Rishon LeZion, but the new coach is already being candid about where his club stands financially in Liga Leumit — and it isn't near the top.

In an interview with ONE ahead of the new season, Brown said he wants to aim as high as possible but acknowledged the gap in resources between his squad and the division's better-funded clubs. "I aspire to the highest possible, but proportionally we're not like Bnei Yehuda, Bnei Reina or Ashdod — we're not close to there," he said.

Asked about player salaries at his new club, Brown was careful not to put a figure on it but made clear the ceiling is modest by the league's standards. "It's good, but it doesn't approach Liga Leumit's biggest earners," he said.

Brown, 45, was confirmed as Rishon LeZion's coach in late May, taking over from David Marton on a one-year deal and working through agent Adam Kidan. The move ended a five-year spell at Maccabi Herzliya, where he took the club from Liga Alef into the National League's upper playoff bracket and, this past season, came within touching distance of promotion to Ligat Ha'al before falling short.

That near-miss with Herzliya, he said, is exactly why he is wary of setting hard targets for Rishon LeZion this early. "I don't know yet, it's too early to say. With Herzliya, as an example, nobody counted us in and we were still in contention going into the final round — so talking about expectations now isn't right," Brown said. "As a coach I aspire to get there. Whether it happens, I don't know."

The rebuilding job in front of him is substantial: only two players have been retained from last season's Rishon LeZion squad, meaning Brown is essentially assembling a new team from scratch heading into pre-season.

He identified two specific gaps still to fill — a further central defender expected to arrive later in the window, and an additional creative midfielder to help link play. Stylistically, he wants a team built on effort and intensity rather than reputation. "A team that fights, runs, tries to play attractive football and hopefully rises eventually," is how he described his ambition for the group.

Rishon LeZion have been outside Ligat Ha'al for 15 consecutive seasons, and Brown's appointment was framed by the club as the start of an effort to end that drought. His comments this week suggest he sees the project as a longer rebuild rather than a one-season sprint, even as bigger-spending rivals like Bnei Yehuda set the pace in the division.