Queensland Roar coach Frank Farina believes bottom-placed Perth Glory will play a major role in determining the makeup of the finals series - especially given the imminent returns of Stan Lazaridis and Hayden Foxe.

Describing Lazaridis as 'one of the nice guys of football', Farina said he was delighted the 35-year-old had returned to training with Perth 12 months after returning a positive test for banned hair loss treatment Finasteride.

But the left winger's availability has only reconfirmed the danger of the Glory in Farina's eyes despite its lowly position on the ladder.

The former Socceroos coach said he expects Dave Mitchell's side to steal points from top four challengers, particularly with four of its final seven games at home starting this Sunday with the visit of champion Melbourne Victory and including the Roar after the Christmas break.

"Perth, for me, are the danger team in this last round. I'm certainly not looking forward to the game in Perth," said Farina. "Hopefully we'll be in a good position by the time we go there because I think they will largely determine the makeup of the four."

Farina has declared 28 points might be enough to book a playoffs berth this season so the second-placed Roar (23 points) appears well-positioned to make the finals for the first time.

The Queenslanders face consecutive home games against the Newcastle Jets and the Central Coast Mariners and a trip to Westpac Stadium to face the Phoenix before the arduous trip west on December 30.

But by then Perth should have Lazaridis and Foxe, who suffered knee ligament damage in pre-season, back in first team action with the club's haul of Qantas Australian Under-23 players also concentrating on domestic matters.

"They've got a side that can beat anyone," Farina continued. "Their position on the table doesn't really show the way they've played this season. They've been unlucky in a lot of games and with the additions of Lazaridis and possibly Foxe they've got nothing to lose and they'll cause teams problems."

Lazaridis won 60 international caps including playing many times under Farina before retiring from the Socceroos last year.

"Stan's a fantastic player and he's a fantastic guy off the field. I worked with him for a long time and it was a tragedy what happened to him," the Roar coach said.

"It's great to see him back. He's done his time and I hope that it won't tarnish all the good things he's done over the past 15 years for Australia."