NEW YORK -- It will take a little longer for the Yankees to decide who will replace Joe Torre in their dugout next season.

After inviting Joe Girardi, Don Mattingly and Tony Pena to the club's headquarters in Tampa, Fla., for lengthy interviews on three consecutive days, club officials met again Thursday to discuss who should be selected as the next manager of the Yankees.

General manager Brian Cashman and senior vice president of baseball operations Mark Newman joined Hank Steinbrenner and others Thursday at Legends Field, according to the Associated Press.

The Yankees released a statement Thursday which read, "There has been widespread speculation about who the next manager of the New York Yankees will be. The evaluation process is continuing and there will be no immediate decision or announcement."

Steinbrenner told reporters waiting outside the club's Spring Training facility that no decision has yet been reached, but that could soon change. Steinbrenner said that the Yankees could have a decision before the end of the World Series, although to comply with Commissioner Bud Selig's edict that teams do not distract attention from the World Series, they will not announce it before then.

"We're going to honor Bud's wishes, and that's the bottom line," Steinbrenner said Thursday.

A rundown of the three candidates in contention:

Joe Girardi: The 2006 National League Manager of the Year, Girardi guided the overachieving Marlins to 78 victories and kept them in the NL Wild Card race into the season's final week. He said accepting the Yankees' job -- if offered -- would present new circumstances.

"I think every managing job is different, because of players and all the parts," Girardi said. "Everyone changes. It's different people and different situations with different expectations. I think every job that you take is different, and I believe that every year is different, because the people are going to change. The idea is still to win a World Series."

Girardi, 43, spent the 2007 season as a broadcaster with the YES Network. A catcher for 15 seasons in the Major Leagues, Girardi worked as Torre's bench coach in 2005 before accepting the Marlins' job.

Girardi's managerial interview on Monday was his first since he passed on the Orioles' vacancy in June. At the time, Girardi passed on the opportunity, saying that the timing was "not right."

He said Monday that he would be prepared for an opportunity to manage in New York and all that goes along with it.

"I think, as an athlete and as a person, you enjoy challenges," Girardi said. "I think any path you take in life is really a challenge. I understand the task at hand; I know the pressures at hand."

Pros: Having worked this year for the YES Network, Girardi has maintained a familiarity with the organization, its players and personnel. Reputed as a tough-guy leader during his playing career, Girardi's management style demands attention. Some of his motivating clubhouse speeches with the Yankees from 1996-99 are still spoken of highly, and Marlins players speak of him warmly.

Cons: Girardi's closeness with the Yankees may be too close. He was teammates with Derek Jeter, Jorge Posada, Mariano Rivera and Andy Pettitte, and the transition from friend to management figure could play strangely. Girardi rubbed up against Marlins management in 2006, leading the club to dismiss him after just one year of a three-year contract. His style in Florida was considered to be overly secretive by some.

Don Mattingly: One of the most popular Yankees in franchise history, Mattingly was a premier American League first baseman from 1982-95. Mattingly said that he has been eyeing a managing position ever since accepting a coaching job before the 2004 season.

Mattingly, 46, followed Girardi in the search process on Tuesday. He impressed George Steinbrenner and his sons, Hank and Hal, after having the opportunity to sit down with the three -- for the first time, he said -- and speak from the heart regarding his feelings for the organization and baseball in general.

Though he has never managed at any level, Mattingly said that he does not consider it to be an issue. A hitting coach for three seasons and Torre's bench coach this year, Mattingly said that he has been plotting X's and O's in his mind with an eye toward this chance.

"Every game I'm involved with, I'm pretty much managing in my mind," Mattingly said. "As games went along, I've been managing for four years for my own part and paying attention to things that go on around the club, the way things are handled, addressed and taken care of. I've heard that experience thing come up a lot, but in my own mind, I've been managing for the last four years."

If he does not receive the managerial position, Mattingly said he is unsure if he would return to serve on the coaching staff.

"That's a bridge that you cross when you get there," Mattingly said. "I want to stay on the positive side right now and focus all my energy on expressing how I feel about this job and the reasons why I feel I can do it and I'm capable of doing it."

Pros: Mattingly's rapport with players is especially strong after three years as the club's hitting coach and one season as the bench coach. Some, like Johnny Damon, have gone on record as saying that if Torre did not return, Mattingly would be an excellent choice. He brings a quiet confidence to the bench and is well respected throughout the game. Mattingly probably represents the closest fit to Torre's style of the three candidates.

Cons: Besides being the only one of the three without managerial experience, he has been questioned for a low-key approach during his playing career, though teammates insist that Mattingly's will to win burns strong. He took a laid-back approach in managing two Yankees games during the 2007 season while Torre served one-game suspensions, including not arguing a blown call at second base against the Mariners in May. If the Yankees want a completely different manager than Torre, Mattingly probably isn't that choice.

Tony Pena: The 50-year-old Pena completed his second season as the Yankees' first-base coach this year after spending parts of four seasons as the Royals' manager from 2002-05.

The 2003 American League Manager of the Year, Pena guided that overachieving Royals club to an 83-79 record and a third-place finish in the AL Central -- the organization's only above-.500 campaign in the last 13 years.

While saying that he loves the Yankees' organization and is happy coaching in New York, Pena stated that he has wanted to get back into managing.

"The desire has been there to try and be a manager," Pena said. "I'm a very persevering person. I always try to wait for the right time, and when the right time arrives, I go in for it. This is the time right now to talk about this."

Pena resigned 33 games into the 2005 season after his Royals got off to an 8-25 start. Pena said that having the opportunity to coach alongside Torre for two seasons have made him a better manager than he was with the Royals.

"I think the relations we have with the players are great," Pena said. "There's no question that it's going to help in the near future. If I get the job, I know that relationship is going to help a lot."

Pros: Pena got the most out of his players in 2003 and was regarded as a strong communicator, a facet of his personality that has played well during two seasons in New York as one of the club's most popular coaches. His ability to speak Spanish with young players like Robinson Cano and Melky Cabrera is a huge plus.

Cons: Pena's 2003 campaign was his only winning season in Kansas City, and he left in 2005 after his Royals won just eight of their first 33 games. His spoken preference to remain on the Yankees' coaching staff -- and the good work he performed in making Jorge Posada a better catcher -- could work against him in terms of the Yankees' managerial job.