English League Championship/ Luton Town 0 Sunderland 5:Sunderland are champions of the English Championship and Roy Keane has a trophy in his debut season as a manager.

Embarrassingly, the Football League was unwilling to present that trophy to Sunderland yesterday, a decision based on safety concerns that Keane called "a disgrace, a PR disaster". But that was the only regret on a landmark day for the Wearside club.

Everything else went to plan, here and at Deepdale. Preston North End have brought Sunderland a fair share of grief this season, Paul Simpson's side having beaten them twice in the league and knocked them out of the FA Cup.

But at 2.44pm, the news came through that Simon Whaley had put Preston one up against Birmingham City with five minutes remaining. Sunderland had already fulfilled their side of the winning equation - they were 4-0 ahead by then, with David Connolly about to add a fifth - and with Birmingham unable to score, Keane's side leapt above City to clinch their fourth Football League title in 12 seasons.

That statistic reveals the yo-yo nature of Sunderland's recent past but this time the upward momentum feels very different. This is a club transformed by the chairman, Niall Quinn, Keane and the Drumaville Consortium, their enthusiasm infecting a lately depressed corner of north-east England. They go to the Premiership, in Keane's words, "to make a mark".

That was the message after promotion last week and Keane reiterated it yesterday. On the final whistle he stood hands in pockets as Sunderland's players and fans celebrated. Nyron Nosworthy, the personification of a reinvented club and the player of the year, danced bare-chested while wearing a pork-pie hat.

Keane, of course, was rather more restrained but the flicker of a smile broke out after he had lambasted the Football League for their organisation.

"I've enjoyed it, yeah," he said, before once again praising his players, the supporters and "the team behind the team behind the team".

Keane said he would allow himself today off but would be "back to work on Tuesday". "I've got meetings with Niall and (chief executive) Peter Walker about transfers and I've obviously got a few people in the back of my mind," he added.

But yesterday was all about the team Keane had assembled for this campaign. When he turned up for the game against West Bromwich at the Stadium of Light on August 28th, Sunderland were 23rd in the division. That was the last of Quinn in the dugout and since then Keane and he have worked together tirelessly to drag the club up. By the time Preston won at the Stadium of Light on December 30th, Sunderland were 12th, 16 points behind Birmingham.

In January Carlos Edwards, Jonny Evans, Danny Simpson, Stern John and Anthony Stokes were brought in and only Simpson did not kick a ball yesterday. Sunderland started to gallop, going undefeated for the next 17 games until the hiccup at Colchester 16 days ago. "There was no panic," Keane said.

That left Birmingham top but Sunderland defeated Burnley to bring them to Kenilworth Road already promoted but with the hope of more.

Keane said before the game his players were focused and two goals in the first six minutes bore it out. Stokes and Daryl Murphy scored them and all ears were on developments at Preston.

Murphy added a second, Sunderland's third, one minute into the second half but it was still Birmingham's title to grasp. Ross Wallace came off the bench to rattle in a fourth in the 77th minute before the thousands in red and white jumped for joy as Preston moved ahead.

Suddenly it was Sunderland ribbons adorning the missing trophy. David Connolly added a slick fifth and at the final whistle the locked-out travelling fans were brought in to applaud their team. Even Keane clapped, briefly.

• Guardian Service

LUTON TOWN: Brill, Keane, Coyne, Barnett, Emanuel, O'Leary (Langley 55), Spring, Heikkinen, Bell (Brkovic 60), Andrew, Idrizaj. Subs not used: Perrett, Boyd, Talbot. Booked: Coyne, Idrizaj, Keane, Brkovic.

SUNDERLAND: Fulop, Wright, Evans, Collins, Leadbitter, Edwards (Wallace 75), Whitehead (Connolly 57), Nosworthy, Murphy (John 57), Stokes, Yorke. Subs not used: Varga, Liam Miller. Booked: Stokes, Evans, Collins.

Referee: L Mason(Lancashire).