Jurman joined the Saudi giants in July after playing 28 games for South Korean side Suwon Bluewings.

The 28-year-old received advice from former Saudi Pro League Aussies Mark Milligan and James Troisi before signing and both encouraged him to give it a crack.

Jurman played his first game in a 1-0 loss to Al Shabab last week and was looking forward to testing himself.

“Coming to a club like this, they only accept wins,” Jurman told FTBL.

“Every game we play, we’re supposed to win and if we don’t, it’s not good enough. You get scrutinised pretty quickly if you make a mistake. We have to go out there with the mentality that we’re going to win and take each game as it comes.

“From a team and fan’s perspective, we’re supposed to win every game and tournament we’re in. Huge pressure, but I always like playing under pressure and I’m excited about the expectations.

“Seeing our first home game the other night was pretty crazy. The fans here are awesome and that wasn’t even a sold out stadium. Once we get a few wins under our belt, more fans will come.

“The atmosphere is unbelievable, so I’m looking forward to that. The league has brought a lot of top players from Europe, so I’ll be getting tested every week.”

 


Jurman did not take part in Russia despite being part of the World Cup squad, and said his next goal was making Australia’s 2019 Asian Cup squad under his former club coach Graham Arnold.

Jurman was called up to Arnold’s 31-player squad in preparation for the friendly against South Korea in November at Lang Park.

“I’ve come to a big league and as long as I’m playing, I don’t see why anything should change,” he said.

“Maybe some people don’t think it’s a strong league, but maybe they’re forgetting Saudi came second in the group in the World Cup qualifiers.

“I want to be playing for Australia and I’ll be doing everything I can to be selected. Making my debut last year and going to the World Cup...I think the small (knee) injury I had in January hampered my momentum a bit.

“Coming into Socceroos set-up and helping the team qualify in those last four games, I think my momentum got hampered with the injury.

“At the end of the day I was fine by the time Russia came. I was disappointed not to play, but it was always a dream to go to a World Cup and no one can take that away from me now after all the hard work I’ve put in and sacrifices I’ve made.”

Jurman was also confident he had made the right choice staying in Asia.

He added: “When this option came up, I could see it was real and I thought it would be an exciting time for the country and even for my team as a club.”