England opening batter Zak Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of statements from skipper Stokes about the dressing room not being "weak men".
Stokes delivered those words in several conversations in the wake of England's defeat in the second Ashes series against Australia previously.
Ahead of the third Test, where England now face a series loss at the earliest opportunity, the captain noted he had allowed his sentiment to "circulate freely" among the playing group.
"I've done the necessary discussions over the past two days that I needed to have done," said the England leader.
However, following Crawley made a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he stated: "I didn't see that."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. We take anything stated in the media with a pinch of salt," he added.
Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy
The captain made the "fragile individuals" comment subsequent to England suffered a loss in Brisbane to fall two matches behind.
The England squad subsequently took a holiday to Noosa between the second and the upcoming matches.
Before the Adelaide contest, he revealed his players had held "honest" conversations and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to remain alive in the series.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman asserted the messaging from Stokes and coach McCullum had remained in line with their previous tenure in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, unchanged," noted Crawley. "It's just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with great liberty. We believed we were capable of something special going into this Test."
Australia Close of Rapid Series Victory
Crawley's dismissal late on Saturday was part of a crucial three-wicket burst by Australia off-spinner Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in a short spell – he also bowled Harry Brook and Stokes himself – left England 207-6 chasing a notional target of 435.
Consequently, the home team need four wickets on Sunday's final day to move to an insurmountable 3-0 lead with three matches played.
A loss would prolong the English team's winless run in this country to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth successive overseas Ashes loss.
The current battle is set to be decided in just 11 days of play – after England losing the first two Tests in rapid time respectively.
The last time 1921, when the Australians sealed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been determined so quickly. The hosts have also triumphed in 11 days on two other instances in the modern era.
"It's disappointing," admitted Crawley. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel at this point."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we will certainly approach it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"It's been difficult. Australia is a very, very good team. It was always going to be hard coming here against them. They entered as the front-runners and they've proven why."
Pope's Position In Question
Although Crawley's performance in the third Test likely secures doubts about his immediate future in the England team, Ollie Pope appears under threat for his position in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
Pope was out for 17 in the team's second innings on Saturday, extending his modest returns versus Australia.
In sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has never made a fifty and boasts an average of 17.62.
Only one other England player since 1900 – Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top six in the Ashes and returned a lower average.
However, Crawley said any suggestion his teammate is under the microscope comes from "the media" – referring to the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," said Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has played some really good knocks. It is talk externally. There is no discussion like that on Ollie in the camp," Crawley finished.
