England opener Crawley suggested he was not familiar with comments made by skipper Ben Stokes about the dressing room not being "those lacking fortitude".
The all-rounder made this message in several interviews following his team's defeat in the second match of the Ashes series versus the Australians earlier this month.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where England now face a series loss with a match to spare, Stokes stated he had let his sentiment to "circulate freely" among the playing group.
"I've done the necessary discussions in recent days that I required," remarked Stokes.
However, after the opener scored a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he commented: "I missed those remarks."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. We take everything that is said in the press with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
The captain issued his "weak men" observation after England were beaten in the second Test to go two matches behind.
The England squad afterwards took a break to Noosa between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Before the Adelaide contest, he revealed his players had held "honest" conversations and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their effort to remain in contention in the series.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman stated the messaging from the captain and head coach McCullum had remained consistent with their previous three years in charge.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, the same as always," noted Crawley. "It's just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with great liberty. It felt like we were capable of something special going into this game."
The Hosts On the Verge of Rapid Series Victory
The opener's wicket late on Saturday came during a decisive three-wicket burst by Australian spinner Lyon.
Lyon's triple strike in a short spell – he also bowled Brook and Stokes himself – meant England 207-6 in pursuit of a notional target of 435.
This means, Australia need just four more wickets on Sunday's final day to move to an unassailable three-nil lead after three matches played.
Defeat will extend England's winless run in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth straight away Ashes loss.
This series will be completed in just eleven days of play – after England fell the initial matches in rapid time each.
The last time 1921, when the Australians sealed victory in England in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been decided more swiftly. The hosts have also triumphed in 11 days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"This is disheartening," said Crawley. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel at this point."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we'll definitely view it with that mindset," he continued.
"It's been difficult. Australia is a very, very good side. It was always going to be hard touring here to face them. They entered as the front-runners and have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
Although the opener's innings in the third Test likely secures doubts about his immediate future in the England team, Pope appears under immense pressure for his spot in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.
Pope fell for 17 in England's second innings on day four, extending his poor record against the old enemy.
In sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has never made a fifty and averages 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman since 1900 – Amiss – has played as many times in the top order in the Ashes and returned a poorer average.
But, Crawley insisted any notion Pope is under the microscope comes from "the media" – meaning the press – "not inside the camp."
"We all know how good of a player he is," added he. "He has had a good year to be frank."
"He has produced some really good knocks. This is talk externally. There's no discussion like that on Ollie amongst the players," Crawley finished.
