The decision of three directors to resign from the board at Dundee has been described as a "bombshell" by one of their former colleagues, but he remains hopeful that they can be convinced to reverse their decision and return to the club.

Steve Martin, Bill Colvin, and finance director Ian Crichton walked out earlier this week in protest at the refusal of the Dundee FC Supporters Society – which owns a 51% stake in the club –to accept a £700,000 takeover deal from an American consortium led by Texan businessman John Nelms.

Maurice Kidd, who is one of the three Supporters' Society representatives on the Dens Park board, has urged the trio to reconsider and intimated that discussions with the American consortium over investing in the club can still be progressed.

"It was a bit of a bombshell," said Kidd, who has been left on the board alongside fellow Supporters' Society representatives Dave Forbes and Fraser MacDonald. "I got a phone call at 7am and then turned the computer on to find out the news. What I would say is that I would strongly urge the other three directors to consider their position.

"The dialogue has to continue. I personally emailed Bill Colvin and still feel the proposal on the table can be progressed if there is a bit of understanding on both sides."

Kidd has treated the bid cautiously since his club has suffered administration twice in its history as a result of financial mismanagement, but stressed he was not opposed to outside investment. He has met with prospective new owner Nelms but wishes to examine his bid in more detail.

"We owe it to the supporters to do the proper checks and make sure everything is above board. That's the key to this whole thing," said Kidd. "[The meeting with Nelms] lasted four hours and he had many good points in his proposal. But I've just really said 'hello' to Tom Keyes, the other proposed investor, but that was about it."