When Garry Hay started at  Tynecastle on Sept 15th he made his 300th appearance for Kilmarnock in Premier League, League Cup, Scottish Cup and Uefa Cup competitions.

The defender, who just turned 32 , has made 277 starts and a further 22 appearances from the substitutes’ bench since signing for the club in 1995, scoring nine goals during that time.

And it’s this unbroken stint of loyal service to Kilmarnock FC that has prompted the club to honour him with a testimonial year which gets under way within the next few weeks.

Hay joins a list of Killie heroes such as Alan Robertson, Stuart McLean, Ally Mitchell, Gus MacPherson and Ray Montgomerie who have had their commitment to the Rugby Park club recognised in this way.

Garry Hay grew up in New Farm Loch and played with both Crosshouse and New Farm Boys’ Clubs, as well as Valspar.

It was while he was a third year pupil at James Hamilton Academy that he put pen to paper, Killie’s manager at the time being the late Tommy Burns.

The teenager was recommended to Killie by the late Richard Thomson and later coached by former Killie star Jim Clark, himself a local guy who went on to play for his home town team.

Back in the early 1990s, Garry was also a target for Liverpool, Notts County, Dundee United and A*r United, but there was only one team he wanted to play for.

A product of Kilmarnock’s youth system, Garry made his debut for Killie in a 2-1 defeat against Rangers at Ibrox on the opening day of season 1999-2000.

The following Saturday – August 7 1999 – he netted both goals in Killie’s 2-0 home win over Aberdeen.

In the early days, Garry was used more as an offensive player, but over the past few years he has made the left wing back position his own.

‘Hooky’, as he is affectionately known to fans and team mates alike, has also had several spells as Killie captain.

And four years ago, he also received international recognition when he was capped for Scotland in a ‘B’ international against Poland at his home ground Rugby Park, Scotland winning 2-0.