Shrews cannot rely solely on Holt

Grant Holt has scored 14 league goals for Town this term (James Baylis)

Shrewsbury Town boss Paul Simpson has demanded that other players step up to the plate while striker Grant Holt is struggling in front of goal.

Town's 22-goal top scorer missed chances in Saturday's defeat at Luton.

Holt, half of whose 14 league goals this term have come from the penalty spot, has not scored in four games.

But Simpson told BBC Radio Shropshire: "Grant Holt's just going through one of those little phases where he's not getting the rub of the green."

Captain Ben Davies, the club's second top scorer with 10 goals from midfield, scored Shrewsbury's lone first-half strike at Kenilworth Road. But, as in the second half in the 1-0 home win against Chester the previous Tuesday night, Holt wasted a number of chances to score.

Richard Walker, who scored the winner against Chester is the next highest scorer among the wealth of strikers at the club with five goals.

And Simpson says it is down to others to help Holt get over his worst run without a goal as a Shrewsbury player.

"So many times this season we've thanked Grant Holt," said Simpson. "But unfortunately nobody else is stepping up to the plate at the moment when it's not quite happening for him.

"He's strong enough, he'll keep going and I thought his work rate was fantastic."

Holt, 27, who signed from Nottingham Forest during the summer, is just six away from 100 goals in his professional career.

But he has come through bad patches before, notably last season at Forest, where he managed just three goals in 35 matches.