“It’s been a long season and those players deserve an enormous amount of credit. “When we’ve played badly thieve buckled down and got on with it. Ron Saunders. “WE are the champions ! “Aston Villa are kings of the First Division castle. “And let's get one thing straight—we thoroughly deserve the club's first championship for 71 years. “Villa have won more points and more matches this season than anyone else in the First Division. “That is what makes champions in the toughest league in the world. “And although public sympathy has all been on the side of Ipswich, who made a marvellous bid for the treble, they did not surrender the League Championship to us. “We won it on merit. “We knew we had won the title when a crescendo of noise greeted our 2-0 defeat. “Our only regret was in not ending the season in style. We had a real Highbury rocky horror show yesterday. “It wasn't a very dainty dish to put before the king of soccer, the great Pele. “There were cheers at the news that Middlesbrough had just snuffed out Ipswich's chances of catching us. [Ipswich finished the season four points behind Villa with two points awarded for a win]. “Our gaffer, Ron Saunders, said he knew when a friendly policeman told him Ipswich had lost. And he said: "That might just have saved a few of my player's lives." “Yes, the tension really got to us, and against a side as good as Arsenal you have got to be at your very best to take anything. “But we haven't played badly very often this season. I know, because I haven't missed any of our 42 matches. But the secret of our success is quite simple. “We have a squad of fourteen honest players who have played for each other and for our gaffer all the way. “And now we have won the title we know that every game next season will be like a Cup Final for us. “But that is something we are already looking forward to. “We are the champions - and we deserve to be.” Dennis Mortimer.