Paul Hurst hunting a Shrewsbury striking solution
Paul Hurst admits he is still searching for a front-line partnership after being left frustrated by Town's attacking play.
The Shrewsbury chief withdrew goalscorer Tyler Roberts and Freddie Ladapo for Louis Dodds and Stephen Humphrys in the 1-1 draw at Chesterfield on Saturday – with the substitutes making a positive impact.
But the Shrewsbury boss wants to see more from whichever forwards start in blue and amber. Ladapo returned to the starting line up in place of Humphrys, who was quiet in the previous stalemate with Coventry.
Ladapo has gone five appearances – three starts – without netting while Roberts took his Salop goal tally to four.
Hurst said: "It gives you that belief that when you do make a change something might happen.
"But at the same time I want whoever's on there to give me that headache or say, 'right, I've run my race, now (someone else) go and get us a winner' – knowing full well that they have played well.
"At the minute I don't think anyone's quite doing enough to really say 'yes, that's me', so it's a little bit frustrating on that side.
"I thought the front two did okay at times but in the end it wasn't quite happening, hence why we changed it and Doddsy and Stevie did pretty well when they came on. It's something else for me to think about."
The draw at the Proact meant Shrewsbury's six-point gap over the drop zone was cut to five ahead of Friday night's crunch clash with rivals Port Vale, who occupy the final relegation spot, five points behind Town with three games in hand.
Hurst surprised supporters by making five changes for the trip to Derbyshire. The most notable omission was left-back Junior Brown, who was left out of the starting XI for the first time under the boss.
Brown has featured more than any other Town player this term with 42 appearances but the boss wants to see a reaction in training.
"I haven't decided yet, I might play Junior next week," said Hurst. "He looks as though he's tired and hasn't been performing how we know he can. He had, up until recently, been doing well and been in the team all of the time.
"Hopefully he'll get the bit between his teeth and want to show me during the week that, if I'm thinking about any changes, he's one to come back into the fold."
