Shepherd caught the eye of RMI manager Mark Patterson after he was released by Conference rivals Scarborough, having previously worked with him at the East Yorkshire club.
Shepherd scored a superb goal in the 6-2 friendly win against Rossendale United to cap an impressive performance and that, along with a couple of outings in closed-doors friendlies, was sufficient to persuade Patterson to offer a deal to his former team-mate as he continues the build up to Saturday's opening Conference game at home to Dagenham & Redbridge.
