The spirit a man of iron may be said to have (6)

I believe the answer is:

mettle

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'the spirit' is the definition.
(mettle is a kind of spirit)

I cannot understand how the remainder of the clue works.

(Other definitions for mettle that I've seen before include "Quality" , "Fortitude" , "boldness" , "The courage to carry on" , "Inherent character - courage" .)

I've seen this clue in the Evening Standard.

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