HE WAS never going to be Mr Popular at the Gelora Bung Karno Stadium.

Here, Indonesian club Persija Jakarta plays some of its biggest matches.

Here, the Jakmanias, as Persija's passionate fans are known, hate Singapore striker Agu Casmir to the core.

But it came to a head on Friday, when the usual boos turned into monkey chants.

If Casmir, who was born in Nigeria, was feeling disturbed by what he heard, then he certainly wasn't showing it.

He didn't find the net that night, but he surely put in an excellent performance that he could be proud of.

When asked what he thought of the chants, he replied with a straight face so nonchalant that you wonder if he had heard you correctly: 'I enjoyed it. I loved it.

'That's part of the game. They try to antagonise you and provoke you.

'You see that in the English Premier League as well.

'I don't feel anything.

'As professional footballers, you have to learn to expect this kind of things, whether you like it or not.'

The bad blood between Casmir and the Jakmanias arose when in 2005, he took off with the US$20,000 ($30,500) signing-on fee from Persija but never played for them eventually.

As a result, his every touch of the ball at the Gelora Bung Karno Stadium, where Singapore played all three group matches, was met with a cacophony of boos.

Somehow, Casmir managed to shut them out of his mind.

In fact, he was doing it so well that he is now leading the Suzuki Cup top-scorer's chart with four goals, along with Indonesia's Budi Sudarsono.

An ever-present player for Singapore in the group phase, he scored two goals each during the matches against Cambodia and Myanmar.

Yet, he claimed he doesn't harbour any ambition of winning the Golden Boot.

Said Casmir, who scored six goals in the 2004 Tiger Cup: 'I did not set myself the objective of finishing as top-scorer of the tournament. That is not what motivates me.

Motivation

'My motivation is to reach the finals and win it.

'This is not about me. It's about the team.'

He is convinced that the team is moving in the right direction, having won maximum points during the group stage.

Beating Indonesia on their own turf was the icing on the cake.

He said: 'Our team's performances have been good so far.

'I think we're in good shape.

'We have scored 10 goals, which is a good achievement.'

Never mind the rest talking about how tough the opponents will be in the coming rounds.

For Casmir, it's all about keeping his sights firmly locked on to the target.

He said: 'It's the same in 2004, the same in 2006 and it's the same now.

'For us players, we have to give everything each time we play, and let it take care of the rest.'

AGU CASMIR'S LIONS SCORING RECORD:

11 GOALS IN 24 CAPS

7 Dec 2008:

Singapore 3 Myanmar 1 (2 goals)