Derry City will form a guard of honour for Shamrock Rovers at Tallaght Stadium on Sunday.
Neutrals had hoped the meeting of the Premier Division’s top two would be a key fixture in the title race.
But the Candystripes failed to force the issue after drawing - rather than winning - their last two games against Sligo Rovers and Shelbourne.
Instead, Sunday’s clash is a celebration for the Hoops who will receive the trophy whether Derry spoil the party or not.
At Dalymount Park last November, Rovers gave themselves a guard of honour with subs clapping the team onto the pitch against arch rivals Bohemians.
But Derry boss Ruaidhri Higgins says his players will honour the champions after their title battle this season.
“We will show them the respect they deserve,” said Higgins. “They are the league champions and they have been the most consistent team.
“That's why they are champions. The head-to-heads have been good this year and we have definitely closed the gap and I think they will respect that as well.
“But we will do the right thing and clap them out. It's not exactly what you want to be doing, but they deserve it. They are league champions.”
Higgins will look to strengthen Derry’s squad over the winter and feels this season’s battle will stand to his squad next year.
A run of seven games without a win in May proved costly but Higgins will chalk it all down as character building experiences.
“If you look at our form from that moment on it has been exceptionally consistent,” he said.
“We probably didn't have the depth in the first half of the season to cope because there were so many Friday-Monday-Friday-Monday games.
“Shamrock Rovers have been the most consistent team over the full season, so credit to them and it's up to us to catch them.
“When you get to this point you want to go one better and try catch them and that will be our ambition next season.”
Derry are backed by a billionaire owner but Higgins insists there won’t be sweeping changes to his squad.
“It won’t be drastic,” he added: “From the summer on we have built a really good group here.
“The players will have gained so much experience from the season and our squad is deeper and it's where we want it to be.
“We have a lot of players in the 23/24 age bracket and it's their first real taste of competing and fighting for stuff.
“It will only stand to the group going forward and we’ll be able to handle a full season better next year.”
