Villarreal - who finished third in 2005 - are currently seven points clear of third-placed Barcelona in the table and are guaranteed the highest-ever finish in their history before the game at home to struggling Espanyol on Sunday.

Nihat, who is Villarreal's top-scorer with 18 goals this season, says the team never expected to finish in second place.

"We have to congratulate (champions) Real Madrid; what they have done is not normal," he said.

"But I feel like a champion, there are many good teams here and coming second is like being champion.

"It has gone much better than we had hoped, to come second and not have to play the qualifying round of the Champions League is a great reward and we are very happy."

Despite the fact his team are certain of their fate this season, Nihat has called for the Villarreal players to remain focused against Espanyol on Sunday.

"Our fans deserve to celebrate this great achievement, so we have to be at our best and go out and play a great game.

"We are professionals and we need to be at our best for the two games we have left, with the clear idea of winning them both," he said.

The Turkey striker believes this season has been "historic" for Villarreal, but insists the club must build on their success next term.

"This has been an historic season for the club, but it must not be just that.

"We have a president who wants the team to improve and I am sure that next year will be equally or more important than this one," he said.

Villarreal's success this season means that the club returns to the Champions League next term.

Manuel Pellegrini's side have qualified only once before for Europe's premier club competition, reaching the semi-finals in 2006.

And the club were this weekend linked with one of the players who knocked them out of that tournament, Portsmouth's former Arsenal defender Sol Campbell.

Fabricio Fuentes is sidelined for the rest of the season and will not be feature against Espanyol, but Pellegrini has an otherwise full-strength squad to choose from.

Espanyol began the season in the same manner as Villarreal and looked set to challenge for a place in the Champions League after rising to third at the halfway stage of the championship.

But a miserable run of form since then has seen the Catalan club plummet to 11th place in the table.

Coach Ernesto Valverde says he accepts the responsibility for the team's dramatic decline.

"The second half of the league has been a disaster for us and I must take the responsibility for that," he said.

Europe is now out of the question for Espanyol and a place in the Intertoto Cup also looks unlikely, but Valverde hopes his side can finish with a flourish.

"We need to take a step forwards," he added.

We have two games left and we are not playing how I would like, but we need to win back some pride and fight until the end."

Moises Hurtado, Ivan De La Pena, Raul Tamudo and Alberto Serran all look set to miss out through injury, but Mari Cruz is back following a three-month lay-off.