Some may say Trevor Bish-Jones, the chief executive of Woolworths, has the toughest job in retail.

Perhaps it is the minion who delivers Sir Philip Green the weekly sales figures for his struggling BHS chain? Then again, Philip Mountford is most certainly in the running.

The Moss Bros chief executive had to guide the menswear retailer through one of the toughest trading periods in recent memory, claiming that Christmas was the worst in the sector for more than 20 years.

He has had to do so while Baugur, the group's biggest shareholder, spends an eternity pondering a £40 million takeover offer and rebel investors continue to question his ability to run the business.

At a special Moss Bros board meeting convened today to discuss the potential bid, Mr Mountford will have to determine whether to force Baugur to put up or shut up.

It is likely that whatever the decision, criticism will not be far away.

Friends of the chief executive say that he has spent much of the past nine weeks, since Baugur said that it was mulling an offer, biting his lip.

Critics, including members of the Moss and Gee founding families, wish he would have said far more.

They believe that he has done little to attract any potential white knight bids and has been offered a lucrative role to stay on if Baugur takes control - both accusations that Mr Mountford denies.

Ironically Moss Bros was just emerging from a similar period when Mr Mountford decided to join the business six years ago. He left his post as managing director for Versace in the UK and Scandinavia to help Moss to fend off the unwanted attentions of Shami Ahmed, the Joe Bloggs entrepreneur.

At the time his retail experience, built through lengthy spells at Dax Simpsons and then at Nautica, was seen as a crucial selling point in turning the business around.

After starting out as trading director at Moss Bros he moved to chief executive in 2004 when Adrian Wright departed.

Fortunately, Mr Mountford is used to marathons, given the length of the Baugur saga.

The self-styled tireless executive was once a squad member at the Blackheath Harriers athletics club.

When in training he was known to run the 17 miles from the Moss Bros head office in Clapham Junction to his home in Orpington, southeast London.

At Moss Bros he has rebranded tired parts of the portfolio - one of his earliest moves in 2004 was to hire the fashion director of FHM for a marketing campaign and recent trading figures suggested sales are beginning to pick up.

Whether he gets his wish to expand the chain beyond its 150 stores will depend on the outcome of Baugur's interest in one of the high street's oldest names.

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