Joe Woolford, 22, and Jake Shakeshaft, 21, finished in 24th place in Sweden last year, with their song “You’re Not Alone”.
But, despite loving their experience in Stockholm, the pair admitted placing towards the bottom end of the table was “frustrating”.
When asked about the tactical voting, Joe told Express.co.uk: “It can be quite frustrating. We put so much work into the song and the reviews we were getting were really good.
“We started to believe that maybe we could turn it round for the UK. It should be about the music at the end of the day. It’s a difficult one.”
The UK’s entries have famously struggled to make a mark in the competition since Sugababes singer Jade Ewen came fifth in 2009.
The last time the UK won was in Dublin in 1997, when Katrina and the Waves performed “Love Shine a Light”.
But Joe and Jake went into the contest with their eyes open, knowing that, however great their single was, they would be unlikely to win.
“I think our personal opinion is that if you want to win Eurovision, it’s simple,” Jake explained. “You just need to write a great song and perform it for another country!”
Today bookmakers Ladbrokes gave Lucie dismal odds of 50/1 to win the Eurovision title, making her the least likely to triumph of any UK entry, ever.
A Ladbrokes spokesperson said: “The odds are there to be defied, and at 50/1 stranger things have happened than the UK winning Eurovision.
“The last 12 months have seen a whole host of betting surprises, and maybe it’ll be Lucie’s turn on Saturday night to spring the next one.”
Eurovision 2017 final will air on Saturday at 8pm on BBC One.
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