But sources close to the 65-year-old have toldThe Age the lure of bringing success to a club starved of stability for the best part of 20 years was one of the most significant factors that led to him committing to Carlton.

The Age first reported last month that Carlton’s new president Luke Sayers had reached out to business confidant and friend Cook about a role at the club. That was before Cain Liddle was removed as club boss last week.

As a young,inexperienced chief executive,Liddle signed major sponsors Puma and Virgin Australia to long-term deals and the club broke its record for membership this year of more than 80,000 fans. That’s fairly substantial given how poor the team’s on field record has been for so long.

But club sources said Liddle became too involved in the football department side of the club and the findings of the external review only destabilised his position at the club further.