When I close a tab, the focus goes right. How do I make it go left instead?

When I encounter a link on a web page, I usually open it in a new tab. This tab appears to the right of the current tab. I then select the new tab to view the link. When I am done and close this new tab, the focus goes to the tab to the right if one is there (usually the case for me), but I would prefer that the focus go back to the tab to the left, where I came from, and do so automatically. How can I change the direction of focus when I close a tab to eliminate the mouse click needed to select the previous tab?