England opener Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with statements made by skipper Ben Stokes about the dressing room as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
Stokes made this message in multiple interviews following his team's defeat in the second Ashes against the Australians previously.
Ahead of the third Test, where the visitors are staring at defeat with a match to spare, Stokes stated he had allowed his sentiment to "circulate freely" among the squad.
"I have completed the necessary discussions over the past two days that I required," said Stokes.
However, following Crawley made a knock of 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he stated: "I didn't see that."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the press with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy
The captain issued his "weak men" comment subsequent to England suffered a loss in the second Test to go 2-0 down.
The team afterwards went on a holiday to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Before this match, he said his players had held "honest" talks and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their battle to stay alive in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, Crawley stated the guidance from Stokes and coach McCullum had stayed consistent with their previous tenure in leadership.
"It's been very positive, unchanged," said Crawley. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, play our way, with lots of freedom. It felt like we were capable of an extraordinary feat going into this Test."
Australia On the Verge of Historic Ashes Triumph
Crawley's dismissal on day four came during a crucial triple-strike by Australia spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Brook and Ben Stokes – left England six down for 207 in pursuit of a notional target of 435.
This means, the home team need just four more wickets on Sunday's final day to move to an unassailable 3-0 lead with three matches played.
A loss will extend the English team's winless run in Australia to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth straight away Ashes series loss.
This series is set to be decided in just 11 days of play – after England fell the first two Tests in two and four days respectively.
Not since 1921, when the Australians sealed victory in England in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been determined so quickly. Australia have also won in 11 days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"It's disheartening," said Crawley. "We came here to regain the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel at this point."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we will definitely view it like that," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been tough. Australia is a very, very good side. It was inevitably hard coming here to face them. They were the favourites coming in to it they've proven why."
Ollie Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
Although the opener's innings in the third Test probably answers questions about his short-term place in the side, Ollie Pope appears under immense pressure for his position in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
Pope was out for 17 in the team's second knock on Saturday, adding to his poor record versus Australia.
In 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has never made a fifty and boasts an average of just 17.62.
Only one other English batsman since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top order in Ashes Tests and returned a lower average.
However, Crawley insisted any suggestion Pope is being scrutinised comes from "the media" – referring to the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"We all know how good of a player he is," added Crawley. "He has had a good year to be frank."
"He has played several excellent innings. This is noise from the outside. There is no chat like that regarding Pope amongst the players," he finished.