The English opener Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of statements made by skipper Ben Stokes about the dressing room as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
The all-rounder delivered this message in multiple conversations in the wake of England's defeat in the second match of the Ashes versus Australia previously.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where the visitors now face defeat with a match to spare, Stokes stated he had let his sentiment to "circulate freely" among the squad.
"I've done the necessary discussions in recent days that I needed to have done," remarked the England leader.
However, following Crawley scored 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he commented: "I didn't see that."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. Our approach is to take everything that is said in the press with a pinch of salt," he added.
Frank Discussions and Steady Philosophy
The captain issued his "weak men" comment subsequent to England were beaten in Brisbane to go 2-0 down.
The England squad subsequently took a break to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and third matches.
Prior to this match, he revealed his players had held "honest" conversations and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to remain in contention in the series.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman asserted the guidance from Stokes and head coach McCullum had remained in line with their previous three years in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, unchanged," noted the opener. "It's on maintaining positivity, play our way, with lots of freedom. We believed we could do an extraordinary feat going into this game."
Australia On the Verge of Rapid Ashes Triumph
The opener's wicket late on Saturday came during a decisive three-wicket burst by Australia spinner Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in a short spell – he also bowled Brook and Ben Stokes – meant England 207-6 chasing a notional total of 435.
Consequently, Australia need four wickets on Sunday's final day to move to an insurmountable three-nil lead with three Tests.
A loss will extend England's drought in this country to 18 consecutive matches and ensure a fourth successive overseas Ashes series defeat.
This series is set to be decided in only 11 days of play – after England losing the initial matches in two and four days respectively.
Not since 1921, when the Australians completed victory in England in eight days, has the destination of the urn been determined so quickly. The hosts have also triumphed in eleven days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"This is disheartening," admitted the batsman. "We came here to win the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel at this point."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we'll certainly approach it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"It's been tough. They're a formidable team. It was inevitably tough touring here against them. They were the favourites coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
While Crawley's performance in the third Test probably answers questions about his immediate place in the side, Ollie Pope looks under threat for his position in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 runs in England's second innings on day four, extending his modest returns against the old enemy.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has never made a fifty and boasts an average of just 17.62.
A solitary other England player since 1900 – Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top six in Ashes Tests and recorded a poorer average.
But, the opener said any suggestion his teammate is being scrutinised comes from "the media" – meaning the journalists – "and not within the team."
"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," added he. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has produced several excellent innings. This is noise externally. There's no chat like that regarding Pope in the camp," Crawley concluded.
