Jermain didn't take long to get up and running for the season when he opened his account at Preston on Saturday, proving that the unwelcome claims of an upcoming move to Old Trafford do not faze him at all.
"You read stuff in the papers but once I get out there I don't want to think about anything else but playing well and scoring goals.
"It is not unsettling, though. I am used to it now and at the end of the day I have been in the papers since I was 17, even before then, with the Charlton thing.
"I am used to it in one sense, and when I get out on the pitch I just focus on playing and scoring for West Ham."
Jermain's only thoughts are on West Ham's next game and he is not about to let the speculation affect his performance in it.
"I don't think I need to say anything. I just play football and that is it - that's what I always say," he adds.
"I scored on Saturday so I can't see why I can't continue - I am just getting on with it."
He reveals that the equalising goal which settled the nerves at Preston was the result of preparation on the training ground, just as much as the usual predatory instinct for which he is known.
"The ball has come across and there was a call from Hutch. we have been working on it in training and he said 'let it run,'" Jermain recalls.
"I hoped to get it back, and I did; it was just instant, and I took it quickly."
The quick reply to Preston's even quicker opener from Eddie Lewis - the first goal anywhere of the 2003-04 season, of course - was a welcome relief, and he admits: "We were under the cosh in the first five minutes; they played really well, and are a good side, so we were lucky to get the goal back so soon - it was a good game, and I enjoyed it."
He says he was disappointed to see the Hammers concede so early, fearing a hangover from last season, and adds: "I suppose I was but at the end of the day you can't really let your head go down; it was early in the game and I thought 'we have to keep on working hard.'"
As of course, he and his team mates did, with Jermain partnering first Neil Mellor, and then David Connolly.
"Connolly is so sharp. Like myself, he likes to get in behind, and Mellor is a good player as well - I have seen him play a couple of times for Liverpool and he is a strong lad with good awareness, and will be good to work off," enthuses Jermain.
"It was difficult conditions but I thought we played well, everyone stuck together - and that's what we needed.
"Preston are a good side with some great players and I have a lot of respect for them; it was a tough game but it is another challenge and you have to adapt to it - and I am going to keep on going."
No one doubts the quality of the colleagues that Jermain has seen leave the club this summer, but, as Jermain himself points out, it would be wrong to overlook the young players coming into the side.
"All the players that have gone are good players and obviously they are my mates so I wish them all the best," he says.
"But we have good players coming in like Youssef who is so quick and Anton, a great player who played really well on Saturday; I have a lot of respect for him.
"Pre-season Anton has done well and to come in for his debut wasn't easy, especially in the heat."
Admiration for Anton's professional capabilities does not, however, appear to extend to more personal matters, and he smiles: "He has got the worst lips in the world; I tell him all the time!
"I don't even call him Anton, I call him 'Lips' - everyone does now.
"But he is a good player, and if he can follow in his brother's footsteps it will be great."
As for Youssef Sofiane's claim to be the fastest player at the club, Jermain counters: "I'm quicker than Youssef!"
Jermain also feels that this season could be the making of Richard Garcia, who played in the same youth team as Joe Cole but has not, for one reason and another, had a regular series of starts for the club.
"Richie is a great player and everyone knows what he can do, he has shown that coming through the youth team," insists Jermain.
"It is a good opportunity for him this year; he is in the side now and he can prove himself now and do well."
*Paolo Di Canio has joined Charlton Athletic for a year.