“My time at Shrewsbury was a failure,” said Coughlan, who turned 36 today and made 87 appearances for Shrewsbury.

“I was brought in to get the club promoted and I didn’t achieve it.

“We got to the (play-off) final against Gillingham and I thought we would go up and it would be possibly my final hurrah.

“We missed out and last season was awful – we let too many good players go and signed too many average players.

“The chairman at Shrewsbury gave us everything we needed and we can’t look at anyone else to blame apart from ourselves and, as captain, I will carry the can.”

Coughlan, however, believes Town long wait to return to the third tier of English football could end this season.

“Shrewsbury have done really well,” he added. “The manager (Graham Turner) has made some astute signings and I would be very surprised if this season wasn’t their year.”

Coughlan is combining playing duties with coaching and is part of a Southend team who lie in mid-table after a mixed start to the campaign following last season’s relegation and financial problems.

“My remit at the start of the season was to come in as first team coach, managing the reserves and helping with some youth development,” he added.

“I have ended up playing a few more games than I anticipated but I have enjoyed it.

“We managed to put a squad together over the course of two weeks in the summer that is competitive.”

By JAMES GARRISON