Posting on Twitter, he wrote: “After eight years at Belle Vue I am not in the 2019 side.
“I am disappointed to learn this from a reliable third party and not directly from the club despite many calls with ML (team manager Mark Lemon). I now have to move on. Love to staff, friends, sponsors and fans. I will miss you all.”
Cook insists he didn’t seek to leave the club. He added: “Further to my earlier tweet and to respond to some messages - for the record I did not want to leave BV and would have happily celebrated my testimonial there.
“I wasn’t talking to ANYONE about a move. I have now had to move to secure my future but it was never part of my 2019 plan.”