Lobi Stars were the top club of the past season after they barely fell short of winning the double when they were expected to be relegated.

The Makurdi club finished third in the Nigeria Premier League after they were beaten in the final of the Federation Cup by cup holders Heartland.

They will now represent Nigeria in next year's CAF Confederation Cup after they last featured in a continental competition seven years ago.

Last season, the 1999 league champions placed 10th on the NPL table with 53 points from 38 matches.

Vice-chairman Dominic Iorfa, who doubles as the team's head coach, will take most of the credit for leading a bunch of unheralded players into a winning team this past season.

For the 2010/11 season, the club played their home games in Jalingo as the Aper Aku Stadium in Makurdi was under renovation.

This past campaign they moved to Katsina-Ala, where they were invincible and put to sword the likes of champions Pillars and runners-up Enugu Rangers.

Skipper Terna Ikpeen will attribute the team's new lease of life to determination.

"There was no special secret to our performance as we were just determined to do well for the team and ourselves. We were just determined to win," Ikpeen told MTNFootball.com

"At a point we were not close to getting a continental ticket, but when we looked at the table, and the gap between us and those at the top was not much, we decided to go all out and battle for the trophy."

Lobi are a team of young players laced with experienced campaigners like David Tyavkase, Blessing Okardi, Jonah Abutu and goalkeeper John Lawrence who rose to the occasion to the surprise of many.