NEW YORK - When Joe Torre arrived to board a private plane that would take him to his meeting with George Steinbrenner, he wasn’t sure of his future.

“If I sensed that they were thinking something different than I was, we were going to have to find a way to split up,” he said Tuesday.

Then, while Monday’s takeoff was delayed for an hour by mechanical problems, Yankees president Randy Levine told him: “We want you back.”

“That sort of broke the ice,” Torre said.

After meeting with Steinbrenner for 45 minutes to an hour in Tampa, Fla., Torre was sure he wanted to return for his 11th season as Yankees manager.

“We didn’t use the word love, but it was pretty warm,” Torre said. “It was something more than cordial.”

Leaving New York’s minor league complex Tuesday, Steinbrenner praised Torre.

“It makes me feel very good. It really does,” Steinbrenner said. “He’s a good man. I like him. I understand him. I understand what he’s after. I’m very happy to have him.”

Steinbrenner hopes general manager Brian Cashman stays, too. Cashman’s contract expires at the end of the month.

“We want Brian to return if we can get him,” he said.

Asked whether he thought there was a good possibility Cashman would stay on the job, Steinbrenner responded: “I do.”

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Torre said he still was leaning toward retiring when his current contract expires after the 2007 season. After he arrived in Tampa, he felt positive vibes from Steinbrenner even before the start of Monday’s 3 p.m. meeting at Legends Field.

“As I was going through the parking lot, he was pulling up in a car and he said, ‘Hi Joseph,’ “ Torre recalled. “Just little things that he does as opposed to what he says go a long way with me.”

Speaking publicly for the first time since the Yankees lost to the Los Angeles Angels in the first round of playoffs last week, Torre held a one-hour news conference at Yankee Stadium. He wore gray trousers, a blue dress shirt with no tie and a sports jacket, looking less tense than during the final months of the season.

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As the 65-year-old manager addressed the future, he didn’t have on any of the four World Series rings he earned with the Yankees, a sign of the past.

Torre, who has managed New York to eight straight AL East titles, didn’t want to make a decision in the aftermath of the Yankees’ elimination on Oct. 10 because he was exhausted. He described his mind last week as “scrambled eggs” and spent several days with his family thinking over his future.

“I realize I still want to do this thing. I still want to manage,” he said. “There’s only one place to manage in my estimation. It’s been the best time I’ve ever had, these 10 years.”

Torre led New York to four World Series titles in his first five seasons, but the Yankees have not won the World Series since 2000. He has two years remaining on his contract and is owed $13.1 million.

“The rewards are so enormous that it’s certainly worth what you put in here. That’s why I’m back here,” Torre said. “I mean, sure, I get paid a lot of money. Damn right, I enjoy that part of it. But if it wasn’t for the nature of what I do, that wouldn’t even have been enough to have me continue doing this.”

Torre contacted Cashman and general partner Steve Swindal — Steinbrenner’s son-in-law — on Saturday to suggest the meeting. Torre and Levine traveled from Westchester County Airport for the session with Steinbrenner, which also was attended by Swindal.