By SANTOKH SINGH

THE S-League awards will be handed out on Friday, but there is unlikely to be any surprise when it comes to Club of the Year.

For Tanjong Pagar United FC has established itself as the king of Singapore soccer for 1998 following its 1-0 victory over Sembawang Rangers FC in the Singapore Pools FA Cup final at the National Stadium on Sunday.

Granted the Jaguars finished second to Singapore Armed Forces FC in the Tiger Beer S-League, but that was only on goal difference. They scored four goals fewer than the Warriors.

But the Jaguars more than made up for that disappointment by exacting revenge on the League champion in the Tiger Beer Singapore Cup final with a 2-0 win.

Then, on Sunday, they put the icing on the cake by completing the double.

Club manager Richard Woon, who has spent more than 25 years with the team that started as Tiong Bahru Sports Club, relished the moment most.

He said yesterday: "It was definitely our best day since we joined the S-League. Winning two trophies after a fruitless two years was reason enough for the celebrations."

He attributed the success to five main reasons -- the players, coach Tohari Paijan, the fan club, the club administration and the sponsors.

The x-factor was the change in coaches when Robert Alberts left to join Home United after the S-League season in August.

Said Woon: "For a team to win, the players must be happy to perform and the motivating factor is the coach. If the coach, however qualified he is, cannot move the players then the team will not win."

He conducted a survey among the players before deciding that Alberts must leave.

He added: "Tohari is not a magician who simply needs to wave the wand to get results. He has been with the players all these years and speaks their language, so they wanted to win for him."

The double also proved that talk about going for lavish pre-season training tours and providing big-match win bonuses for every game was not true.

Woon also paid tribute to the Jaguars Fan Club, which surprised the crowd at the National Stadium on Sunday with a dragon dance performed by the Alexandra Community Club.

Said the club manager: "We have one of the most disciplined fan clubs. The members volunteer their services and also use their own money to make banners.

"With such support, the players knew they had to reward them with some results this season."

Woon was modest about the part his administration played in the overall success, choosing to thank the sponsors -- Torie Group of Companies, Aqua Mineral Water, Concorde Hotel and Puma.

But he reiterated his biggest contribution: Changing the coach and promoting Tohari to fill the vacuum.