Source: Team_Talk
Sonko delighted by Tigers recall
Ibrahima Sonko has expressed his delight at Hull's appointment of Iain Dowie after revealing he was made to train with the kids by Phil Brown.[LNB] The defender had not featured for the Tigers' first team since their loss to Fulham in October before he was called on by Dowie to partner Steven Mouyokolo in Saturday's 2-0 victory over the Cottagers at the KC Stadium.[LNB]Sonko, who is on a season-long loan from Stoke, got his chance because of injuries to Andy Dawson, Anthony Gardner and Kamil Zayatte and Bernard Mendy's illness, and he took it with both hands as Hull kept only their fifth clean sheet of the season.[LNB]Describing his experiences over the last five months, Sonko said: "Sometimes I felt like I wasn't part of the team any more. You expect to be treated one way and suddenly you find you're with younger people.[LNB]"It wasn't humiliating - we've got some good pros there - but it was difficult. I came here to play for the first team and it wasn't happening so you get frustrated but I got the reward for keeping my head down and keeping working."[LNB]The 29-year-old insists he bears no ill will towards Brown, who was sacked last week, for his treatment despite having been given no reason for it, and he does not regret making the loan switch.[LNB]"I talked to him (Brown) a lot and he just told me to keep my head down and respect the kids," continued Sonko. "I was paid to do a job and sooner or later I knew it would come back to me.[LNB]"He's got his own way and he believed in other players and had less belief in others, and I was one of them, but he has done a good job for the years he's been here and we can't blame him for trying his own way.[LNB]"I've got no regrets. The boys are fantastic, I've had a great spell here. It's been hard at some points but they all backed me up from the start."[LNB]Sonko admitted he had doubts even after Dowie informed him he would be in the squad, and he is now desperate for more action - although he will immediately find himself out of the side as he is ineligible for next weekend's match at Stoke.[LNB]Sonko said: "On Thursday, when Bernard was ill and the manager put me in the squad, I was thinking, 'is Bernard going to come back and I'm going to be pushed out again' so until (yesterday) morning I was thinking, 'let's wait until I'm on the pitch then I will be happy'.[LNB]"My performance was to show the new manager that I'm up for the fight. If he believes in me, I can try to do my best."[LNB]Sonko is the second player to be brought in from the cold by Dowie in as many weeks after Caleb Folan marked his return to action by netting twice in the 3-2 defeat by Portsmouth.[LNB]Illness ruled the striker out on Saturday but Sonko revealed the pair have stuck together through the difficult times.[LNB]"We've got a lot to prove," he said. "We've trained a lot together. We had so many talks, saying, 'just keep going' and it was great having him around to know I'm not the only one who suffers."[LNB]Saturday's win lifted Hull level on points with 17th-placed West Ham having played one game fewer, and Sonko says there is enough belief around the club that the Tigers can prolong their stay in the top flight.[LNB]"The manager said the first day he came, until the last day he doesn't want to hear any talk of us going down," added Sonko. "We can fight, we've got the right people around us, so it's just a matter of winning the games we've got in front of us and not being worried."
