Stoke City's former player Ibrahima Sonko is set to aid sacked Watford boss Ed Still in his new role at Belgian side RAAL La Louviere. Sonko played for Stoke City in the Championship during the 2010-11 season. He made 27 appearances for the club under manager Steve Cotterill. Sonko's stay at Stoke City was not without frustration as he was left in the stands due to EFL rules over loan players. The club had seven loan players in Cotterill's squad, which meant Sonko was unable to play. Sonko has since played for Ipswich Town and in Turkey before his playing career drew to a close. He is now set to move into the senior game with RAAL La Louviere, who were reborn nine years ago after going bankrupt in 2009. Sonko is remembered as a powerful and popular presence in his time at Pompey, but he also knew frustration as the result of EFL limiting clubs to naming five loanees in their matchday squad. With the club still in financial difficulties, Pompey had seven loanees in Cotterill's squad, which meant Sonko was left in the stands despite being fit. He said at the time: 'This has been a dreadful experience. I've taken the money because that's what is in the contract - but all I've wanted to do is go out and earn it. I had to sit in the stands and watch my team lose because the rules mean I could not even be in the squad. I'm sure that if many clubs don't even know the rules, then they don't. So to them I must have looked like some lazy footballer who could not be bothered to play. I was one of seven players on loan because the club was struggling to sign players permanently. The problems started when we got injuries. There were gaps all over the team except in defence. The rules state you can only have five loan players in the squad on match day so I made way. It ended with me sitting in the stands while the manager did not have enough players to fill the bench! Portsmouth were paying me £14,000-a-week wages on a season-long loan.