Cook this week became Bourne Town's fourth boss in a year following the resignation of player-manager Neil Thorpe following last weekend's dismal 1-0 home defeat to unfancied Newport Pagnell.
Former Wakes player-of-the-year Thorpe, 28, arrived at the Abbey Lawn just eight months ago along with John Chand and Cook.
The trio guided Bourne to United Counties League Premier Division safety last season but the Wakes have managed just four points from 12 games so far this campaign, and are without a win since the opening day and are rooted to the foot of the table.
The Wakes have been in disarray for weeks with assistant boss John Chand resigning last month and star signing Liam Nimmo, pictured, returning to Holbeach after just one game for the club – an 8-2 home defeat to St Ives.
That was not the only heavy defeat fans have had to endure with chairman Andy Stubley offering a refund to all spectators after a 7-2 home loss to Stotfold.
Despite that chairman Andy Stubley had given Thorpe his full backing in Saturday's match programme.
But Thorpe said the results had started to impact on his personal life and cited a crippling injury list and a lack of commitment from players as his reaason for quitting.
"People can say or write what they want about me, but each defeat hurts," he said.
"One player told me he was unavailable as he was playing for a pub side – for me that is not good enough.
"We have brought a lot of good players to the club, but a number showed a disappointing lack of commitment.
"I have faced a constant battle to stamp my authority on the team, with us having just one training session a week.
"I do feel let down by a number of the players, and injuries to key players didn't help.
"I now want to get back to playing, be it at Bourne or elsewhere."
Cook, who follows Thorpe, Darren Munton and Glenn Notley to the Wakes' helm, is fully focused on reaching mid-table with the help of assistant Jimmy McDonnell and Jay Harrison.
He said: "If we can turn things around, people must remember the tireless work Neil 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."
Ironically Cook's second game in charge will see the Wakes host Holbeach United for a league clash on Tuesday (7.45pm), marking the return of Chand, Nimmo and Lee Orrey, who also had a brief spell at the Abbey Lawn earlier this season.
It will be a tough test for Bourne with Shaun Keeble's side sitting eighth and aiming for a top six spot this season.
However Cook's first challenge will be to pick up points at a Wellingborough side currently sitting 10th with a fine defensive record, games in hand on the leaders and and just two defeats all season.
The Doughboys have won three of their last four and took four points from Bourne last season.
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.