11.00 - The final match of a momentous season, and half of Sunderland appears to have descended on a sleepy industrial town in Bedfordshire.

Nine months ago, the same supporters were watching their side lose at Bury. Today, they have travelled to Luton in anticipation of a coronation ceremony for the new Championship champions.

Spirits are high in the car park of a nearby McDonalds, thanks partly to the fillip of a guaranteed place in the Premiership and partly to the 36 cans of Guinness that accompanied one group of fans on the long trip from Wearside.

"I wouldn't normally drink it, but it's Irish," said Jeff Harris of Framwellgate Moor. "After everything that's happened this season, it just seems appropriate."

11.57 - Next season, it will be Old Trafford and Anfield. For now, though, it's a case of squeezing down a three-foot alley to enter the back-to-back terrace that masquerades as an entrance to the away end at Kenilworth Road.

On May 28, more than 150,000 revellers will flock to Luton to enjoy Britain's biggest one-day carnival. Today, it looks like the party has started three weeks early.

12.24 - Given that Luton are known as the Hatters, it seems fitting that a large group of Sunderland fans are wearing bright red stetsons.

The excitement is building as supporters file past Kenilworth Road's Eric Morecambe Suite, erected in honour of the club's most famous celebrity fan.

Morecambe and Wise might have been a successful double act in their time but, according to the Wearside faithful, they were nothing compared to Niall Quinn and Roy Keane.

Judging by the latter's steely stare as he surveys the pre-match warm-up, it's safe to assume that Sunderland's manager is playing the role of the straight man.

Keane by name, keen by nature. There's a title to be won - and football's biggest perfectionist is clearly desperate to complete the job.

12.50 - Unfortunately, today isn't just about Sunderland. As well as needing their side to beat Luton, the travelling army also need Preston to take at least a point from their game against Birmingham.

With the players about to emerge from the tunnel, attention shifts to the giant cockerel costume that has just taken its place in the away end.

With league leaders Birmingham one point ahead of Sunderland, things aren't exactly in the Black Cats' hands. Still, it's hard not to count your chickens at a time like this.

12.54 - Fittingly, the players re-appear to the strains of Thin Lizzy. As a number of supporters are quick to comment, though, the boys won't just be back in town at the start of next season - they'll be back in the Premiership as well.

1.04 - And by the looks of things, they might just be going up in style. Referee Lee Mason has hardly put his whistle away as Anthony Stokes plays a deft one-two with Daryl Murphy and fires a low shot into the bottom right-hand corner of the net.

Bedlam ensues as Sunderland supporters leap out of their seats in every conceivable nook and cranny of the ground.

1.06 - The 'home end' is a sea of red-and-white as Murphy nonchalantly doubles Sunderland's lead.

Keane had promised to guard against complacency, and two goals in the opening six minutes mean he's been as good as his word.

1.20 - Two seasons ago, Sunderland's supporters went through the wringer at West Ham as Stephen Elliott's last-gasp winner claimed the title.

Today represents a slower form of torture. Radios are clamped to ears, mobile phones beep out messages of hope and despair, whispers from strangers are treated with a reverence normally reserved for close family members.

As an eerie silence descends on Kenilworth Road, Five Live goes straight to Ian Dennis at Preston. David Nugent has...hit the post. The worry goes on.

2.07 - Stokes breaks free down the left and rolls the ball across the face of the six-yard box. Murphy taps in to make it 3-0, and sparks choruses of "We're going to win the league". As things stand at the minute, the Sunderland supporters are correct.

2.25 - Or are they? The lack of updates from Preston is leading to a mass biting of nails that could put Wearside's manicurists out of business.

They say that no news is good news and, on this occasion, they're certainly correct. But it would be nice to have at least some indication of how things are going at Deepdale.

2.40 - At least things at Luton couldn't be going much better. Ross Wallace crashes home a fourth just a minute or so after coming on to the field.

The Scotsman celebrates in front of an away end that has half of its mind on Lancashire.

2.42 - It starts in the bowels of the main stand as little more than a single shout. Within a second, it develops into more of a primeval roar. Five seconds later, and three-quarters of Kenilworth Road is up on its feet.

If a butterfly on one side of the world flaps its wings, someone on the other side of the planet is supposed to feel the wind blow. Similarly, if Simon Whaley scores at Deepdale, four thousand Sunderland fans go berserk in Bedfordshire.

Pity poor Danny Collins, though. The fans started cheering just as the full-back was shown the yellow card. The tackle wasn't that bad, honest.

2.51 - David Connolly has added a fifth, but the biggest cheer of the afternoon accompanies confirmation of the final whistle at Preston. Sunderland are champions for the fourth time in 11 seasons.

2.54 - They are also winners at Luton as the referee blows his whistle for a final time. Danny Simpson starts the party by racing into the centre circle with a Championship banner under his arm, proof as if it was needed that Sunderland knew this moment of celebration was coming.

As Keane once famously said, 'Fail to prepare, prepare to fail'. After succeeding on the pitch all season, the Black Cats are not about to let themselves down when it comes to celebrations.

2.55 - While his players dance in front of the television cameras and swing on the crossbar, Keane stands a respectful distance away from them and quietly applauds.

It is a moment he cannot have imagined when he replaced Niall Quinn last August, but it is also one that he does not want to dominate himself.

As the supporters serenade their champions, Keane quietly drifts down the tunnel. He briefly reappears to meet the press, but the inference of his actions is clear. The players are the champions - Keane is merely the person who makes it possible for them to play.

2.50 - He is also the person who has made it possible for the supporters to celebrate. As Sunderland's team bus pulls out of Luton, it passes hundreds of fans for whom the night has already begun.

The party will go on for hours, as the season is given the send-off it deserves.

Nine months that started dreadfully end in unadulterated delirium. The worst team in Premiership history are champions once more