But since returning to the fray, the veteran midfielder, who was a member of France's 1998 World Cup-winning side has helped Villarreal to shoot up the table on the back of six wins, including at home to defending champions Barcelona and away to high-riding Valencia.

The run has taken the "yellow submarine," sinking without him in the side, to the brink of a UEFA Cup place in barely six weeks.

Villarreal had been suffering after Argentine playmaker Juan Roman Riquelme, a star of last year's march to the Champions League semis where they lost to Arsenal went off in a huff on loan to Boca Juniors.

And after defeats at Getafe and at home to Atletico Madrid they were 12 points off the European pace in April.

Pires had just come back in March and then a month later scored against Barcelona in a 2-0 win with Diego Forlan applying the coup de grace.

The latter has since struck up a fine understanding with the former Marseille star and bagged two goals in Saturday's success.

The win at Valencia put the club in the top six and Pires, now 33 and who said recently he was thinking about going back to first club Metz to end his career, is enjoying himself again after his spell on the sidelines.

"I neither consider myself the (club's) saviour nor the replacement of Riquelme," he explained.

"I am a team player. I am not afraid of taking on responsibilities but a player is nothing without his teammates.

He says the way the club play helps.

"I feel at ease playing well forward, in front of the two defensive midfielders and behind Forlan," says the man who won a welter of titles with Arsenal.

Pires did not make the French World Cup squad last year as Les Bleus reached the final only to bow to Italy under coach Raymond Domenech.

But he is blossoming again and thanks Villarreal coach Fernando Roig for the chance to do that in La Liga.

"I owe him a lot as I went through a very tough time when I was injured and even asked myself if I could carry on playing," says Pires, who suffered similar injury heartache when a knee injury forced him out of France's disastrous World Cup title defence in 2002.

"My family and (Fernando Roig) convinced me to carry on this time."

"He said he has confidence in me. I owe him and want to pay him back."

Preferably in the form of a place in Europe.