He told BBC Gloucestershire: "I had spoken to the chairman and we had a gentleman's agreement to carry on and we'd shaken hands on it.
"He is an honourable man who loves his football and that was enough for me."
The club are now competing against the likes of Dorchester, Dover Athletic and Woking, and Hockaday is convinced he can build a squad to challenge at the top of the table.
"The budget has been greatly reduced but we had a greatly reduced budget last year," he said.
"Because we've gone down it's been reduced again but I've got to make it work as best I can.
"We have a good facility in terms of a stadium and a great relationship with Hartpury College, so we'll tickle them under the chin with other things apart from money.
"I want to look them in the eye and see that they want to play for me."
Source: BBC Sport
Source: BBC Sport