Chief executive Marc Bolland could be under threat inside head office as he tackles problems on the shelves

They say 13 is lucky for some. After a miserable Christmas, Marc Bolland, the embattled chief executive of Marks & Spencer, will need more than luck to get through 2013 with his job intact.

The Dutchman’s fate is likely to rest on his performance over the next 12 months when he must bounce back from a miserable Christmas in clothing while trying to drag the UK’s favourite knicker seller into the 21st century.

Things did not get off to a good start last week when leaked news of M&S’s poor festive clothing sales forced him to rush out a financial statement late on Wednesday evening. The incident added fuel to rumours that Bolland is facing rebels within his own head office, as well as issues with knitwear and pants.

A string of management changes and restructurings appear to indicate an unhappy ship, with rumours that Bolland tends to micromanage his staff.

What’s more, the 128-year-old retailer posted an unexpectedly bad 3.8% fall in underlying sales of clothing and homewares, the main factor in a 1.8% fall in overall underlying sales for the group in the three months to 29