Carlos Borges’ 76th minute strike in Lancashire sealed the deal for City and saw us retain the title, as we finished one point clear of Manchester United.
Today’s win capped a magnificent season and a superb run that saw City win our final seven games to pip United to the crown.
And for Vicens, who succeeded Gareth Taylor as head coach last summer, it was vindication of all the hard work and sacrifices made by his players and staff.
“I am so proud of the team and I told them they fully deserved it,” the Under-18s head coach declared.
“It has been a tough season and we showed a lot of things.
“We’ve got a great group of people, great human beings which is the most important things and character, style and a lot of personality.
“In the last month and a half when we knew were chasing and that we had to be perfect to win all the points left as we knew United would not drop points, we did it.
“I think its great experience for them to be in a title race like this one and to see what is required to be able to do it.
“We are very happy and delighted with the players.
“It’s like crowning the season with the reward we have been chasing.”
Reflecting on the title win, Vicens pointed to the way his players had coped with the pressure of having to win every game over the run-in.
And he also referenced the mentality and professionalism showed by his young charges over the winter even when they weren’t playing competitively.
“It has been an unbelievable run,” Vicens added.
“We knew the team is always showing the best football in the second half of the season and it has been a great two months.
“Even if we hadn’t won today, you couldn’t say to the players anything but well done.
“Facing different challenges, they have been amazing.
“This is a big reward for weeks in January/December/November when we didn’t have games, but we kept training as if we had a final that weekend.
“Every session counted was the message and a big part of the success is down to those months when it was cold and wet.
“We kept going and today is a big reward for that behaviour.”
