As northeastern giants Buiram United sealed a record sixth Thai League 1 title, their coach Bozidar Bandovic issued a stern warning to the foes that they should expect the champions to be "much stronger" next year.
The 2-0 home victory over relegation-threatened Police Tero late Saturday night guaranteed back-to-back titles for Buriram with three games to spare.
The Thunder Castle now have a 12-point lead over second-placed Bangkok United, who lost to Sukhothai 3-2 last night.
The trophy presentation is likely to take place next Saturday when the Thunder Castle host Pattaya United, another game the champions are expected to win with ease.
Buriram, apart from a few minor hiccups, have been so dominant in the second half of the season that their opponents gave up the chase a long time ago.
The three points earned against Police on Saturday night simply made the expected outcome official by setting the seal on Buriram's right to retain the trophy.
Buriram claimed their sixth straight league victory with the help of goals from Diogo Luis Santo in the 10th minute and Korrakot Wiriyaudomsiri midway through the second half.
After the victory, Bandovic declared it a "special occasion" for his team.
"This has been a special year for Buriram and this is a special occasion for us," said Bandovic.
"We have won the Thai League 1 title for two consecutive years and it wasn't easy for the team.
"In the past few matches, we put in an extra effort whenever we were on the pitch and it showed.
"We still have three league matches and the FA Cup games left, so we still continue to work hard," said Bandovic.
Bandovic added: "Next year, expect our team to be much stronger than this season.
"Our rising stars have grown up and gained lots of experience now. We can turn to players like Sasalak Haiprakhon, Rattanakorn Maikami, Supachok Sarachart and Supachai Chaided to step up and become the key members of the team."
Police Tero, on the other hand, were left languishing in the relegation zone after the loss. They are in 15th place, having picked up only 33 points from 31 matches so far.
In last night's matches, Ubon UMT United lost 2-1 to Chonburi, Bangkok Glass thrashed Air Force Central 5-2 and Chiang Rai United drew with Navy 2-2.
