Thorpe handed in his resignation on Saturday, moments after seeing his bottom-of-the-table side slip to a 13th defeat in 15 games this season.

His departure comes a month after influential assistant John Chand walked away from Abbey Lawn, making Cook the only survivor of the management trio appointed at the back end of last season.

Formerly Thorpe's assistant, Cook has issued a rallying call to everybody involved with the club, claiming an improvement is just around the corner.

He said: "First of all, I'm really gutted that Neil called it a day – I think he's been really unlucky.

"If we can turn things around, people must remember the tireless work he put into the club while he was here.

"There was never any question that I'd walk away, I'm happy to continue and it's vital we keep the continuity.

"I offer no excuses for our start to the season, but this is a fresh start and I hope everybody at the club gets behind us.

"Our plan was always to play good football, but maybe that was a little naive in this league.

"I'm looking to bring more aggression to our play and want to make us a side with a blend of quality and determination on the pitch.

"We are only one win away from lifting the gloom and are more than capable of climbing up to mid-table."

Cook becomes the fourth Wakes manager this year.

He follows Thorpe, Darren Munton and Glenn Notley.

Wakes favourite Jimmy McDonnell will assume more responsibility as Cook's assistant, with Jay Harrison also remaining in the fold.

However, Bourne face an uphill task at Wellingborough Town tomorrow (3pm) if they are to claim a first win since the opening day of the season.

The hosts have won three of their last four outings and have conceded just seven league goals this season.

In contrast, Bourne have picked up just one point from an available 33 since beating Long Buckby two months ago, shipping 33 goals in the process.

The Doughboys won 2-1 at the Abbey Lawn last season, but the Wakes would surely take a repeat of last season's 1-1 draw in the reverse fixture.

Cook hopes to have injury-prone striker Dan Bent back in the fold, but has doubts over the fitness of defenders Khameel Spence and Stewart Smith.