The former England boss hailed the achievement as "more than a miracle" as the Enschede club won 2-0 at 10-man NAC Breda with goals from Bryan Ruiz and Miroslav Stoch to finish the season one point ahead of Ajax.

Twente finished the season with 27 wins and just two defeats from their 34 games, the title going a long way to restoring McClaren's reputation which had been in tatters following his sacking as England manager.

"Today we made history. It's more than miracle," McClaren said on Twente's official website.

"What a fantastic bunch of players," he added in an interview with Dutch broadcaster NOS.

"I said at the beginning of the season I don't know if we have a team, I couldn't tell.

"They grew and grew, they deserve it. They deserve it."

McClaren saw Holland forward Eljero Elia depart to Hamburg last summer, bringing in Costa Rica striker Ruiz from Belgian side Gent as a replacement, and he repaid the manager with 24 goals.

"It's a fantastic achievement by the players, the staff, the medical team. Everybody deserves it, especially (chairman) Joop (Munsterman)," added McClaren.

"It's fantastic, also for the supporters, what an achievement."

Ajax put Twente under pressure until the end, finishing the season with 14 straight league wins - including today's 4-1 success at NEC Nijmegen - in which they scored 50 and conceded three, but Twente, despite a loss to AZ Alkmaar two games ago, held their nerve when it mattered.

"It feels good at the moment, fantastic," said McClaren.

"The players have been under pressure from day one. Ajax kept coming, kept coming and we've kept winning. And today was perfect for them.

"We knew we could afford to lose one and that (the AZ game) was the one. This is fantastic."