Portuguese Jose Gomes, head coach of Al-Khaleej's first football team, confirmed that the primary goal for the upcoming season is to secure early survival in the Saudi Roshn League. This came during the press conference held by Al-Khaleej club on Saturday evening, attended by club president Ahmed Khuraida, to introduce the new Portuguese coach, who signed a two-year contract until 2028. Gomes said: 'I am very happy to return to Saudi Arabia, which I consider my second family, due to my association with Saudi clubs for years.' He added: 'I feel proud to sign with a big and historic club like Al-Khaleej, and I preferred the club's project over other offers, due to my conviction in the management's vision and its belief in building a distinguished work during the next two seasons.' In response to a question about his previous remarks regarding Saudi refereeing, Gomes clarified: 'I respect the Saudi referee and appreciate his efforts, and I have only been sent off once, against Al-Ittihad.' He continued: 'But I still believe that the home team has the right to choose whether to use a foreign referee or suffice with the local referee, because the advantage of playing at home should also include this aspect.' For his part, Khuraida welcomed the new coach, confirming that the contract came after careful study, with the aim of completing the technical project that the team presented during the past seasons in the Roshn League. Khuraida explained that the administration is working on addressing the defensive errors that were not satisfactory to the fans, as well as developing the attacking system, to help the team appear in a better form next season. Regarding the possibility of moving matches with limited attendance to Al-Khaleej Stadium or Prince Nayef bin Abdulaziz Stadium in Qatif, Khuraida replied: 'We submitted a request to the Ministry of Sports in coordination with the League Association, but so far we have not received any official response, and thus our matches will be played at their scheduled time and place at Prince Mohammed bin Fahd Stadium in Dammam.'