How times have changed – only two years ago AFC Wimbledon Ladies finished the season on zero points and were saved from relegation by virtue of a team finishing on minus points.

This season, they are celebrating promotion as the undisputed Premier Division champions of the London & South East Regional Women’s League.

Sunday’s 10-0 win over Carshalton Athletic at Gander Green Lane sealed the title with two games to spare.

On the day, Emma Keady bagged five goals, Rebecca Sargent hit four and Linsey Clarke also scored to start the celebrations.

However, boss Chris Lyons insists the ladies’ success is not down to individual stats or achievements.

“I took over a team that finished on zero points at the end of the 2013-2014 season, and they were close to being relegated,” he said

“It has been a complete transformation in how we deal with things away from the pitch, we have had to revamp everything. We had to bring in a completely new squad of players, new coaching set up.

“How the first team relate to the development teams has also changed, they always used to be segmented off – there was never any interaction at all.

“We have changed all that and it means we have more a club feeling.”

He added: “We’ve become very professional and the players have really brought into what we expect of them as a club.

“We have a squad of 18 and it is hard managing 18 when you can only pick 11, but they had bought into that squad mentality – it has always been about the squad going forward and not any one individual.”

The Dons will now be coming up against the likes of Gillingham, Norwich and Ipswich in the Premier League South East Division One.

And while it is a step up in standard, Lyons is convinced his ladies are more than up to the challenge, because he has planned it all along.

He said: “After I was offered the role two years ago, I sat down with Dave Ward [assistant coach] and we both said: ‘We don’t want to be rebuilding every single season’.

“We wanted a group of players we knew could compete at the next level, and that has been behind our winning this league so comfortably.

“We have already set them a target that we want to finish in the top four or five next season, and I think they are capable of doing it.”

Lyons added: “Jessica Trimnell as captain has been excellent, and Libby Suchley as vice-captain is an unbelievable leader – she supports Jess so well, they work very well together."