England opening batter Crawley suggested he was not familiar with statements from captain Stokes regarding the dressing room not being "weak men".
Stokes delivered this message in multiple interviews following his team's loss in the second match of the Ashes versus the Australians earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where England are staring at a series loss with a match to spare, the captain noted he had let his sentiment to "drift around" among the playing group.
"I have completed the necessary discussions over the past two days that I required," remarked the England leader.
But, after the opener made 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. Our approach is to take anything stated in the media with a pinch of salt," he added.
Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy
Stokes made the "weak men" comment after England suffered a loss in Brisbane to go two matches behind.
The England squad subsequently took a break to Noosa between the second and third matches.
Prior to this match, he said his team had held "raw" conversations and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their battle to remain alive in the series.
Yet, the Kent batsman asserted the guidance from the captain and head coach McCullum had remained consistent with their previous tenure in leadership.
"It's been extremely upbeat, unchanged," noted the opener. "It's on maintaining positivity, play our way, with great liberty. It felt like we could do something special entering this Test."
Australia On the Verge of Historic Series Victory
Crawley's dismissal on day four was part of a decisive three-wicket burst by Australia spinner Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Brook and Ben Stokes – meant the chasing side six down for 207 in pursuit of a notional target of 435 runs.
Consequently, Australia need four wickets on the final day to secure an insurmountable three-nil advantage with three matches played.
Defeat would prolong the English team's winless run in this country to 18 consecutive matches and ensure a fourth straight away Ashes loss.
This series is set to be decided in only eleven days of play – after England losing the first two Tests in rapid time respectively.
Not since 1921, when Australia sealed a series win in England in eight days, has the destination of the urn been decided more swiftly. The hosts have also triumphed in 11 days on two other occasions in the modern era.
"This is disappointing," admitted Crawley. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and now we are facing elimination now."
"There remains plenty to play for and we will certainly approach it like that," he continued.
"The challenge has been tough. Australia is a very, very good team. It was inevitably tough touring here against them. They entered as the front-runners and have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
While the opener's innings in the third Test likely secures doubts about his short-term place in the side, Pope appears under immense pressure for his spot in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.
Pope was out for 17 runs in England's second innings on day four, extending his poor record versus Australia.
In 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has never made a fifty and averages just 17.62.
Only one other English batsman since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has played as many times in the top order in Ashes Tests and returned a poorer average.
However, the opener said any notion his teammate is under the microscope comes from "the media" – meaning the journalists – "and not within the team."
"We all know how good of a player he is," said Crawley. "He has had a good year to be frank."
"He has produced some really good knocks. It is noise from the outside. There is no discussion of that nature regarding Pope amongst the players," he concluded.
