Manchester City Under-23s have retained their title with the Hammers also now confirmed to end up in second place after their victory against Everton earlier in the week.
However, the east London side were at one point leading the table and were not out of the title race even going into the last few months of the season but a spate of unfavourable results saw them content themselves with a second-place finish.
After losing in the Premier League Cup quarter-final to Fulham, Longelo highlighted that it was optimal for the youth side to stage a comeback against the Toffees, which they did in more ways than one.
“We are just buzzing”, Longelo was quoted as saying by West Ham’s official site.
“We knew we had to bounce back from the defeat against Fulham, so this game [against Everton] was a big one for us.
“We played really well and we stood strong.
“We came back against them and deserved the win.”
Longelo conceded that it is natural to be disappointed at not winning the league but stressed that even a second-place finish is a good achievement and the development side can be happy about it.
“We’re thrilled with this”, Longelo added.
“It’s been a long, tough season for us and, unfortunately we’ve not won the league.
“But we’ve claimed second place and we deserved that at least.
“We can be happy with that.”
The Hammers’ runners-up finish this season is a huge improvement over last season when they ended up eleventh in the table.
