The Irish defender played 90 minutes at Derby on Sunday but the fact he made it was a miracle in itself after being in hospital with a throat abscess during the previous week.
Wednesday's 2-0 victory at Pride Park made sure The Owls finished above County in the league and gives the fans plenty to look forward to next season.
Coughlan told Footymad: "Yeah it was a great finish by anybody's standards and the form we have been in was fantastic. I said earlier in the week that you have to finish strong and take that into next season. I have actually been in hospital for a couple of days but I seem to be alright now. To be honest I was struggling in the match and even in the warm-up it took me a long time to get going but that's all in the past, I'm alright now.
"We didn't want to be hanging on in the last few games so we were glad to get everything sorted at Brighton. The game down at Crewe was a one-off and I can tell you that the defeat there really hurt us and we were gutted not only for ourselves but our fans too so we had to come back strong after that match and we have. I think if you can come in to this league new and get 52 points, that's a marvellous achievement so credit to the boys because they have all done really, really well."
The skipper though would have liked to have been injury-free throughout the campaign and he is looking to improve on that statistic next season.
He added: "It's been an up-and-down season for me personally because I would have liked to have played 40-odd games like I have done previously with Plymouth but then again I am greedy! Unless I am up at the top of the division, I'm never happy! But seriously speaking, I think the whole club has done really well this season to finish where we did do."