His side are now 15/8 to win the division and 1/4 to be promoted as they took advantage of former leaders Lincoln City not playing due to international call ups.
They were made to wait for their win, with Chuks Aneke striking on 52 minutes and Kieran Agard sealing the win with the second on 65.
Newport County, whose boss Michael Flynn has been linked with a move to Shrewsbury also had to wait for second half goals to help them move into third and the final automatic promotion spot.
Goals from Jamille Matt and and sub Cameron Pring on 54 and 67 respectively did the job to give Newport their first league win in four attempts, as they sae off Colchester 2-0.
At the other end, Notts County's miserable week continued as they slumped into the League Two relegation zone, losing 3-0 to a Cheltenham side that had started the day below the Midland's club in the drop zone themselves.
Having sacked Harry Kewell, their second manager of the season, at the start of the week, County were hoping for a positive bounce at home against a side that had only won once away.
However two Luke Varney goals and Tyrone Barnett's strike helped move the visitors up the table and above their hosts. The Meadow Lane side are now 5/1 to be relegated out of the Football League, while Cheltenham are at 11/4 to go down.
Richie Wellens began life as Swindon Town boss with a heavy home defeat. The former Leicester and Doncaster player has been let in no doubt of his task ahead after a 4-0 beating by Carlisle United. Regan Slater hit two second half goals for the visitors.
Tranmere Rovers slip three places, but remain in the final play-off place following their 3-2 loss at Crewe. Mansfield Town beat Port Vale 1-0 at home to sit in the play-offs, along with Exeter City thanks to their 2-2 draw with Northampton Town.
Bury claimed a 4-0 home win over Stevenage, as Jay O'Shea struck twice; while Morecambe needed a a late Aaron Wildig goal to win 1-0 at Forest Green Rovers.
Cambridge United scored after just seven minutes at Oldham, but still lost 3-1, as Athletic woke up in the second half to comeback for the win. Grimsby Town had a Ahkeem Rose 86th minute strike to thank for their 1-0 win over Crawley Town.
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